Keith White is a man of determination and commitment, on a mission. In 2005 he sailed anti-clockwise around the British Isles in his yacht, Nephele, wholly and solely for charity, single handed.

This is a difficult challenge for any able going seaman, but for Keith, the challenge had an additional task to face; Keith is disabled.

Keith lost the use of his left arm in a car accident in 1991. The damage caused was so intensive that, after many hours of pioneering surgery, Keith was left without any use at all in his arm, and now faces his own personal challenge on a daily basis, as he is in constant nerve pain due to the damage caused.

This has not left Keith disillusioned in any way. He has complete faith in both the sea itself, and his own competency in Yachtsmanship.

The British Isles challenge was not plain sailing! Keith was faced with many fierce storms and bad squalls once he had sailed to the North Sea, on his way around the Scottish coastline. Radio contact was lost, and Keith's land crew spent 3 days without direct contact with him. His position was established thanks to the North Sea oil rigs, and the Scottish Coastguard.

But mother nature seemed determined to push Keith to his limits once he set sail from Stromness again. He was thrown into the heart of a force 9-10 storm, the likes of which the West Coast of Ireland had not seen in many years. After capsizing many times, Keith was eventually rescued by the Arranmore RNLI, who spent 22 hours in grueling conditions to bring him ashore. This was to be the start of Keith's real challenge. He had suffered injuries which everyone thought would bring him home, and would force him to give up his single handed sailing, but Keith is a man of his word, and refused to let the charities down.

On 22nd July 2005, Keith sailed into Gillingham Marina, Kent. He had kept his word, and had sailed single handed around the British Isles.

You can see the whole story by going to the Previous Challenge page. There are links to Nephele, Keith's sailing yacht, his progress reports, recorded by his land crew, a list of the charities that Keith sailed for, an account of his rescue by the Arranmore RNLI, media coverage of Keith's single handed challenge, and much more. The web pages of Keith's previous challenge show a great insight to before, during and after Keith's British Isles charity sailing expedition, and is well worth a visit.

In September this year Keith White will once again be sailing single handed, but this time the challenge is even bigger. He is sailing across the Atlantic Ocean, again for charity, but this time for two charities; the RNLI, to raise awareness of what they do, and the work they do that goes unnoticed, and for The Cutty Sark Trust, in light of the recent devastating fire that took place. Keith feels that it would be a fitting tribute for him to help raise money for one of the last Tea Clippers, as he will be sailing along the same route that these magnificent ships took hundreds of years ago.

Keith will be sailing in a new yacht, a Hanse 400, details of which will follow on as Keith and his land crew further their organisation of this monumental challenge.
Practical Boat Owner magazine will be testing Keith's new yacht under sail for him, once it has been finished, and details of their findings will be published in a future edition of PBO.
More information on Keith White's new Hanse 400 Yacht can be found on a page dedicated to it, and how it will be fitted out for the challenge. Please use the drop down menu found in the home page button.

Sponsorships are currently being discussed with several major companies, but this does not mean that offers of sponsor will be turned away, so if you or your company wishes to back Keith and this single handed sailing challenge, please do not hesitate to contact Keith's organiser and land crew leader Simon, by emailing him at simon@callsos.co.uk. Simon is Company Director of Specialist Office Solutions Ltd, and has very kindly offered his services in helping Keith organise his Atlantic Crossing Challenge.

Again, more about the sponsors can be found on the dedicated Sponsorship page.

If you wish to make a donation to the RNLI, this can be done by following the RNLI Donations link.
If you would like to make a donation to The Cutty Sark Trust, this can be done by following The Cutty Sark Trust link.
All monies donated are made directly to the RNLI and The Cutty Sark Trust, and absolutely no percentage is taken by Keith for his fundraising effort.

The Itinerary:

Keith will be making the journey via several stop overs, as he will need to top up on water, perishable food stuffs etc, and this will only be for a two or three day duration. If necessary though, Keith may have to make unplanned stops, but these are not anticipated, as the yacht will be fully equipped with the latest technology, allowing Keith and the land crew to maintain constant contact, so his position can be carefully mapped out.

Keith will eventually reach the USA, stopping first at Florida, then up to New York, thru to Massachusetts, St. Johns in Canada, and then back again to the British Isles via the Azores.

For a full itinerary, please use the link in the menu at the top of this page, which outlines the route Keith is taking, where he hopes to be, and at what time scale. This itinerary is being carefully planned, so as to avoid naturally occurring ecological events, such as El Nino, so a full outline will not be available until closer to the day that Keith leaves.

This challenge will no doubt fail to be without it's own confrontations, but they will be documented through this web site, along with every step of Keith's journey, so please remember to add www.singlehandedyachting.co.uk to your book marked sites, and come back to check on Keith's progress during his Atlantic crossing challenge.
A daily log of Keith's current position etc is being kept on a dedicated page, along with a destination diary which will chart his time spent at each port of call. A link to these pages can be found at the top of this page.

	Keith and his Hanse 400, Rosiley, was at the Southampton Boat Show on September 18th, 19th, 20th. It was great to meet so many well wishers there, and a big thank you for your kind donations!