This summer Jono Dunnett is aiming to become the fourth person to windsurf around Britain… and for some very worthy causes.

Check out more about Jono’s adventure to the Isle of Wight with brother Gregg and Clyde Waite in 2014 here.

My name is Jono Dunnett. I’m 41 years old, and have been windsurfing since aged 10. Before that I sailed a Topper dinghy, starting out at the still excellent Gunfleet Sailing Club (link is external) on the Essex coast. A highlight of these early years was sailing out with my brother Gregg to the Gunfleet Sands, about 8 miles offshore.

During the summer of 2015 my intention is to windsurf around Britain. If I succeed in achieving this I will be the fourth person to have completed this voyage by windsurfer. However, my approach is different to the previous attempts because I will sail alone, without a water-based support team.

History

Three people have windsurfed around Britain, and their circumnavigations were aided by yacht / powerboat support. Britain is taken to mean the mainland ‘big’ island of England, Scotland and Wales.

Tim Batstone – 1984 – 70 days

Keith Russell – 1999 – 62 days

Richard Cooper (Britain and Ireland) – 1999 – 61 days

Shore based support

I am organising some van based support, welcoming offers of shore based support; and I am also planning for sections where support will only be sporadically available. At different stages of the attempt I will:

Receive assistance from a van based support team

Gratefully accept the offers of support from Local Contacts.

Sail with gear to be able to camp for up to a few days at a time

Safety

When sailing alone you can only rely on yourself, so it is necessary to plan carefully, be well prepared, and to sail within ones limits. Managing the many potential risks involved in this venture will be my primary concern. There will be days when I choose not to sail because weather conditions are unsuitable, and perhaps others when I turn back to shore instead of pressing on. With 30 years’ windsurfing experience I have confidence in my ability to make the right calls about when and when not to sail.

My support and advisory team includes experienced windsurfers and a round Britain (and round the world) yachtsman. Together, we have painstakenly risk assessed the whole project and identified procedures to effectively manage the many and varied situations that could potentially arise.

Why?

I like windsurfing around islands. Britain is my home island and I’d like to sail around it. Additional to those entirely selfish reasons, I’d also like to raise some money for some good causes, specifically:

Ralph Bates Pancreatic Cancer Research Fund – A charity that funds research in and support for those affected by pancreatic cancer.

Supporting Tanzanian Orphans and Widows – a charity that enables Tanzanian orphans to go to school and assists widows with business start-up loans.