One very small sailing boat will be visiting Anglesey and North Wales in April to continue its quest to become the first dinghy to sail round all the islands in Wales and England for charity. That’s a staggering 200 plus island mission that started back in 2019 and which has so far covered nearly 500 miles of sailing and rounded 94 islands. So why would sailor Ken Fowler and his 4 metre long RS Aero dinghy “Yoda” want to take on this challenge? In a word, Cancer. Ken lost his father, mother-in-law and 4 other family members to the disease so he’s made it his mission to raise a staggering £50,000 for Cancer Research and Oakhaven Hospice in Lymington. Having raised £37,000 by sailing the length of the UK coastline in his bath tub sized dinghy he is now trying to reach that £50,000 target by completing this island adventure.
Anglesey represents the largest island of the entire Yodare challenge and coupled with its infamous tides it may well be the most difficult island of the adventure. Sailing round Anglesey in a dinghy is hard enough, but Ken Fowler and his RS Aero will also be sailing around 24 other islands that surround Anglesey, some of which provide tidal challenges of their own as they are only islands for a few hours of the day!
Ken will also be taking on the tidal challenges of Bardsey Island and other islands on the Lyn Peninsula, as well as hopefully using the big tides at the end of the month to circumnavigate two “marooned” islands by Porthmadog.
Reflecting on his upcoming adventures Ken said “I’m really excited about rounding Anglesey. I know it is going to be one of the hardest islands of the challenge and certainly the longest circumnavigation. The travelator of the Menai Straits and the over falls around the Skerries are just two of the issues currently focussing my mind, and I’m really grateful for the support and local knowledge I’m be giving by sailors from the area. The stunning scenery of islands such as LLanddwyn and Cribinau look amazing, but both offer serious tidal challenges to even get around them . Sometime during my trip to Anglesey I’m going to sail my 100th island and most importantly to me I’ll finally cross the ‘halfway mark’. With that in sight and the fund raising going well I’m looking forward to escaping the clutches of ‘lockdown’ and getting this sailing adventure back on track.”
The rough plans for April are that Ken will be sailing round Anglesey between the 15th and 18th April as well as sailing the other surrounding islands either side of those dates. Ken will also be in Aberdaron around the 19th-21st April and in Porthmadog around the 27/28th April. All plans subject to weather!
You can find out more about this adventure at www.yodare.co.uk where you can also follow his adventure “live” with a tracker showing his progress round Anglesey – just click on the “WHERE’S KEN?” tab. Daily updates, videos, pictures and blogs will be accessible at @goyodare on Facebook – a great way to find the latest news on where Ken is and his plans.
If you want to show your support for Ken and these amazing causes then you can donate by clicking the big yellow DONATE button on the website or visit Virgin Giving and search either Yodare or Ken Fowler. Equally if you see him on the water give him a wave – it’s generally a very lonely mission and all company is greatly welcomed.
Provisionally.
Launch from Beaumaris am 15th April.
Recover pm 16th April