Tahira - ARC BLOG D-Day 6 [25-Nov-23]

TAHIRA ARC BLOG
D-Day 6 [25-Nov-23]
Location: North of Cape Verde
Lat: 19.31N Long: 24.56W

Meet the crew: BRYAN 'Q' HAMMOND

How would you describe yourself in one sentence?
" Bryan is a creative and energetic person who always has a project on the go. He is an engineer at heart and is at his happiest solving practical problems.

What is your first favourite piece of music and why?
" 'Pride and Joy' by Stevie Ray Vaughan. He just loves it and reminds him of an instance when he was driving late at night to Colorado Springs and just turned on a local rock music station.

What is your greatest achievement in live to-date?
" Bryan has had a successful and fulfilling career in the Telecommunications industry and likes to think he played his part in bringing up two wonderful daughters with his wife Claire. Recently he built a Caterham Seven sports car - another long-held ambition together with this voyage.

What sailing experience have you had?
" Bryan's first experience was way back as an shipyard apprentice with a 3 week training trip on the Sir Winston Churchill sail training ship - a 3-masted schooner. Since then he has sailed and raced various dinghies as well as regularly chartering larger boats with friends or family. The current "fleet" consists of a Drascombe Dabber on a mooring in Pembrokeshire. Bryan is a qualified Coastal Yachtmaster.

What is your second favourite piece of music and why?
" 'A World of our Own' by the Seekers. This is a great song and one that both Bryan and Claire grew up with and see as part of their life together.

What motivated you do this trip?
" Bryan's first experience of sailing on the Sir Winston Churchill was an inspiration as it unlocked the possibility to travel to more glamorous destinations. Sailing around the cans is fun, but sailing to another location - be it Cowes, Cherbourg or Gran Canaria is very fulfilling. Bryan has many years sailing experience, but sees an Atlantic crossing as the 'ultimate achievable challenge'. He feels that we live in a 'sanitised world' and that this is a great opportunity not to be missed - and to do it as a team makes it extra special.

What major concerns do you have?
" Until you actually do something like this we don't know how we will react - both physically and mentally. Crossing the Atlantic is such a different experience. But he trusts the people and he trusts the boat.

What is your third favourite piece of music and why?
" 'Wait for the Waggon' by Hillary James and Simon Mayer, as it reminds him of the car journeys with his kids - the soundtrack of family holidays.

What have you learned since starting this adventure?
" Bryan has learned how to easily spot the Pole Star, but also how quickly you empty your mind of everything in this world that does not relate to this boat.

What does success look like for you?
" Getting there with some good memories - being part of a team. Challenges along the way whether equipment or weather related will make the experience even better, if successfully negotiated.

What are you running away from?
" He doesn't think he is running away from anything, but is running towards achieving something new. But perhaps fear of not being able to do this kind of thing in the future - for all of us there is definitely a ticking clock. A 'one-time only offer'.

What will you do next?
" Bryan thinks that's a good question. Sailing the Atlantic has been a selfish pursuit in many ways so whatever his next challenge is, he would like it to be with Claire. Watch this space.....

Blog author: Andy Bruce