David sailing round Britain for Hazel and Parkinson’s

A sailor in his 80s is to undertake a gruelling 2,100-mile journey around the UK to raise money for Parkinson’s UK.

David Temple, of Golden Hill Fort, Freshwater, sets sail from Yarmouth Harbour at 6am on Wednesday (May 24) with his long-time friend, André Usborne.

The proposed 29-day trip will see them navigating the most northerly point of the British Isles. David, a member of the Royal Solent Yacht Club, said: “My lovely wife, Hazel, was diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease some years ago.

For those who don’t know, it’s a degenerative disease affecting your whole body in so many ways, slowly attacking and breaking down the body systems.

“Every day, Hazel relentlessly and gallantly struggles through it. She is not alone; there are 145,000 in the UK living with Parkinson’s and, every hour, two more are diagnosed; the numbers are rising.

“I am in my 80s, with many ageing issues, but still active and able to support her. My challenge is to sail my small 34ft yacht around Britain and round the most northerly point of the British Isles (a rock called Muckle Flugga – nearer to Norway than mainland Scotland) in four weeks.

“It’s a tough one; I’ll visit remote locations where you can see four seasons of weather in one day with tricky navigation and lots of overnight sailing. André Usborne, a good friend and sailor, will stay with me for the whole journey, but we will be joined at various stages to get through the tricky bits of the journey by Kit Noble (who also has Parkinson’s), John Smith, Steve Burton and my grandson, Sam.

“I want to raise as much as I can in donations and am reaching out to everyone to support my challenging sail. Seago Yachting are my amazing sponsors.

“Parkinson’s UK is funding research that can give hope for the future. They need better treatments now. Not in 10 years. Not in 20 years. That’s why Parkinson’s UK is pushing to deliver a new treatment by the end of 2024.”

André and John are both members of Yarmouth Sailing Club.

David and André can be followed on the Marine Traffic App; search for ‘Second Wind UK’. David’s JustGiving page is justgiving.com/fundraising/davidtemple81.