Harborough man raises thousands for charity during 115-day solo sailing challenge
A man who lived in Harborough for more than 25 years is celebrating after he completed a huge challenge - sailing on his own around Great Britain and Ireland for charity.
Paul Smith, 62, ran a chartered financial planning business, helping clients prepare financially for retirement.
Over the years, he saw several clients develop Alzheimer's or dementia, seeing the devastating effects first-hand.
Paul said: “It robs people of retirement. It robs spouses and partners of their loved ones.
“You’re looking into somebody’s eyes when you’re looking after them with Alzheimer’s or dementia. You know that there’s no cure for it. There’s no hope.”
So after he retired and moved to Lymington, on the south coast, Paul wanted to do something to help.
He decided to pair his love of sailing with fundraising for Alzheimer's Research UK.
He explained: “I just needed to do something kind of big and bold enough to get people’s attention.
“Without a cure there isn’t any hope, to be honest.”
Setting off on April 11, Paul sailed anticlockwise around the British and Irish coastline, including Scotland, Orkney, Shetland, Northern Ireland, Dublin and the Isles of Scilly.
For more than three months, he sailed on his own.
He said: “It was 115 days of falling out with myself.
“Seeing this country from the sea rather than from the shore is just a different world.”
Paul started social media pages to document his journey and raise as much money as possible.
He said: “It kind of put me in a position where I couldn’t back out even if I wanted to.”
On his travels, he met scores of people who also donated.
When asked about the most surprising part of his journey, Paul explained: “It was the generosity of complete strangers.
“It was just spontaneous generosity. A stranger just put cash in your hand.”
Initially, Paul hoped to raise £5,000, then £10,000. Alzheimer’s Research UK told him that £15,000 could fund a PhD student for an entire year, giving him another target.
So far, he has raised £13,048 including Gift Aid donations, and is pushing to reach £15,000.
People can donate at www.justgiving.com/page/sailingcaptainpaul
But this shan’t be the last of Paul’s fundraising, as he said he will be back “bigger and better” next year.
“Seeing this country from the sea rather than from the shore is just a different world,” he added.