I was hallucinating due to lack of sleep, reveals cross-Channel sailor
HALLUCINATIONS and sleep deprivation were not enough to make Dave Birch give up on his charity sailing challenge.
The Laser 150 challenge raised more than £7,000 for Les Bourgs Hospice as Mr Birch spent two days sailing 143.2 miles from Falmouth to Guernsey in a 13ft dinghy.
Mr Birch arrived off the south of the island at 12.45am on Tuesday.
Even though he could hardly walk to shore after crouching in a 1.5ft by 3ft cockpit for 37 hours, he said it was the mental side rather than the physical that made this challenge so tough.
‘As I was being towed the last distance, I began to hallucinate because of sleep deprivation,’ he said.
‘I saw trees in the water to the right, gold coins coming out the back of the boat, and cows and goats in the white of the waves.’
Although a support boat was nearby in case of an emergency, Mr Birch took no help from it and was fully self-sufficient.
He added that this was the hardest challenge he had ever faced and was nearly three times the distance of the last challenge he did.
While too scared to sleep in case a wave tipped him and all his supplies in the water, dolphins danced at the bow as the boat picked up speed through the English Channel.
‘At one point I had to get the oars out to row past the shipping lanes full of massive commercial ships,’ he recalled.
It was all in the name of charity and Mr Birch said he would do it all again, bigger and better, because he valued the hospice movement so highly.
‘You wouldn’t do it out of choice because the levels of discomfort were unbelievable. You have to stay alert and focused and steer all the time, but Les Bourgs is so deserving of this money.
‘If you think it and feel it, you can do it,’ said Mr Birch.
n For more stories and information see www.epicsailing.co.uk.
