Ellen MacArthur Trust Skandia Round Britain reaches halfway

The Ellen MacArthur Trust Skandia Round Britain Voyage has reached the halfway point of the inspirational 2,000 nautical mile voyage around Britain having passed Lossiemouth in Morayshire, Scotland. Since the Voyage began from Cowes on 03 May young people in recovery from cancer have been sailing onboard Scarlet Oyster taking part in the experience of a lifetime.

Since the start of the Voyage:

• 22 ports or anchorages have been visited,
• 26 young people have sailed onboard Scarlet Oyster
• £6,916 has been donated through’ buy a mile’. This equates to 691 miles of the voyage bought.
• over 4,000 miles have been travelled by the shore support team
• over 600 cups of tea have been made onboard
• Over 200 ‘tweets’ have been made by the crew

Dame Ellen MacArthur, who is sailing onboard on some of the legs of the Voyage said;

“On reaching the halfway point the crew deserve a huge congratulations! Since we set off in May the energy and enthusiasm of the young people onboard has been remarkable. With Northern Ireland, Wales, and the South Coast still to visit there is so much more to come and I know they will continue to do us proud.”

Skipper Cath Vise commented;

“The Voyage so far has certainly lived up to it’s billing as the trip of a lifetime. The scenery, especially here in Scotland has been breathtaking and we’ve seen dolphins, puffins, seals and guillemots. We’re now looking ahead to the second half and a fantastic homecoming in Cowes in September.”

The Ellen MacArthur Trust Skandia Round Britain Voyage involves a series of young people across 17 legs, sailing the 48 foot yacht Scarlet Oyster the 2000 nautical miles around Britain on a four month voyage stopping at 17 ports around Great Britain. Having started from Cowes on 3rd May the Voyage has already stopped at Brighton, Dover, London, Ipswich, Hull, Newcastle, Edinburgh and Aberdeen. The second half will see Scarlet Oyster stopping in Inverness, Glasgow, Belfast, Douglas, Liverpool, Cardiff, Torquay and Southampton, before finishing in Cowes on 12 September.

Follow the progress of this inspirational voyage online at www.roundbritain.org where a Geovoile interactive tracking map will update the boat’s position every hour, and have the ability for visitors to watch video, listen to audio and read crew blogs flagged from where the content was sent.

You can also show your support for the Trust by donating £10 and ‘buying a mile’ of the Voyage through the website or by calling 0870 0636774. A virtual yacht has been created to track fundraising online and each donation will move it forward one mile.