A MAN has been in west Cumbria testing out a tiny sailing boat - which he plans to sail over the Atlantic Ocean.
Andrew Bedwell, of Lancashire, was at at Whitehaven harbour last Thursday trialling the boat in the Irish Sea ahead of his Atlantic voyage.
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He explained that he will be setting off on the journey from St John's Newfoundland in May 2023 and sailing back towards the UK.
He hopes to make the journey in sixty days but says that it could take up to ninety.
Andrew commented that it will be like sitting in something the size of a wheelie bin for around three months.
Mr Bedwell said: "I've always done a lot of solo adventures, whether it be mountain climbing or motorcycling.
"I like to make the most of my time off and been out doing things on my own. For quite some time I've been doing lots of long distance, solo, adventures."
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He says that his most recent big challege involved him taking a boat up to the Arctic to raise money for his daughter's school and a charity.
Andrew said that his yacht is based in Whitehaven and he finds everyone in the area quite friendly which made him want to journey up to the town to test out the boat.
He and his daughter travelled to the area for a sea trial which allows them to know how to balance everything correctly.
Some builders from the area and other workmen came out to help them do this. Mr Bedwell said: "We were hoping for 15 mile per hour winds which is exactly what we got.
"We managed to get out and do all of the tests that we wanted to do.
"Next time we go out we will have to trial it for rough weather so we'll aim to test it in around 25 mile per hour winds and do a longer passage."
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Andrew went onto thank the people at Whitehaven harbour who came out to help him and to make his mission possible.
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