Charity

Kate Astley - rising to the occasion

Hi, thanks for visiting my page.

Seafarers UK, the leading charity for seafarers in need, are holding a day of events and challenges with a nautical theme to raise money for their very worthy cause on 29th June 2012.

As someone working within the UK's maritime industry I'm keen to support Seafarers UK in this endeavor. And when the opportunity arrives to scale 130 metres up the mast of a tall ship, the STS Lord Nelson courtesy of the Jubilee Sailing Trust....

...well you just have to rise to the challenge.

UPDATE:

The mast climb happened last Friday – despite the rain and the wind. It was an awful lot hairier than I could have imagined but, I made it right to the top of the mast (well maybe 3 rungs down, but if you’d be happy to stand on one leg on a wobbly rope ladder 130ft above the Solent without being attached to a safety line you’re a better man than me).

The fist shock of the day was the weather turning from a sunny 21degrees to windy and rainy within seconds of setting foot on the STS Lord Nelson, the second was finding out that the harnesses we’d all been fitted with would only be attached to safety lines on the most challenging part of the climb – the underhanging ladders to get to the first and second platforms!

I set off fairly confident up the first part of the rigging, but when it came to the first underhanging ladder I nearly gave up on the spot. The safety wire isn’t held taught to support you, it’s a last resort to catch you if everything goes badly wrong. So you have the unnerving experience of leaning backwards, already quite high off the deck of the ship, and trusting yourself that you have the ability to pull yourself over the first platform.

Having made it that far I hoped the worst was over but, for me at least, the second overhang was worse. I’ll admit to being a bit claustrophobic, and the higher you go up the mast the ropes and rigging starts to converge. Getting to the second overhang, the first challenge was getting my safety wire attached, I had to take a step back down as the ropes behind me were so close I couldn’t unattach the karabiner off my harness to clip onto the wire. Finally clipped on, I started to climb again, this time ladder was narrower so at the very top only one foot at a time could stand on it and, after a bit more drizzle, the platform lip that I needed to grab onto was wet and cold. And so with one foot on a rope ladder, the other scrabbling for the underhang, and totally lacking confidence in my ability to grip the platform I started to panic.

The lovely Lesley from the Jubillee Sailing Trust heeded my cries of “I’m really freaking out now, I’m not sure I can do this!”, got me breathing and under control again and talked me up onto the final platform albeit a bit shaken.

There was only the final rope-ladder to the top left. I took two attempts – the first time the wobbling was a bit much for me, but once I know that it was going to happen and had prepared myself for it I finally got there. And despite it all I’m so glad I did!

I don’t know how I would have faced myself if I’d given up, and I did come very, very close to giving up.

I think I was running on pure adrenalin for the rest of the evening and my hands and arms ached from the death-grip I had on everything, but it was well worth it, and I would like to thank you all for sponsoring me, and if you havent yet please give me a few pennies for my troubles!

   xd

Through Virgin Money Giving, you can sponsor me and donations will be quickly processed and passed to Seafarers UK.

Virgin Money Giving is a not for profit organisation and will claim gift aid on a charity's behalf where the donor is eligible for this. I really appreciate all your support and thank you for any donations.

Mast image borrowed from Alex Hopkin's brilliant Flickr photostream http://www.flickr.com/photos/alex_hopkins/

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