Carol Jenkinson

When Alan Priddy came back from his around-the –world trip on his Rib in 2002, He said to me I’m going to do it again but in Lively Lady.

I dismissed this at the time, I should really have known better! Back then little did I know that I would soon become his right hand man so to speak?

I definitely come from a sea-faring family as all the male members of my family have had jobs at sea. My twin brother, Richard Gyles, is also a co-skipper on the project. I have sailed on and off for many years but decided, after enduring years of sea-sickness, that I was better of staying on dry land! 
 
At first my days were spent in overalls, covered in either Blue or Red dust as I rubbed down, prepared and painted the hull, prepared and varnished all woodwork on deck and in the cabin. The Bilges, Engine Compartment and the Heads all had to be stripped scrubbed, prepared and painted ready for new equipment to be fitted.

I did have help from Alan and some of the co-skippers, but unfortunately they all have full time jobs, so most of the hard graft was left to me. Richard at Hayling Yacht Company even handed me a clocking in card I spent so much time there. Don’t worry though, I did leave the specialist jobs to the professionals we have on the team
 
I remember one hot sticky day I was rubbing down the bodywork on the dog house dressed in only shorts and a skimpy top. When I looked up I found Jake, a journalist from Practical Boat Owner clicking away with his camera! I’m still dreading the day I might open up a magazine to find a picture of myself showing a little more bodywork than I would like!!
 
We held monthly meetings with the Co-skippers and young Adults so everyone could learn what was going on, I started attending these mainly to fill up my evenings but it was not long though before I was in the forefront of organizing fund-raising dinners and events and am still doing it today. The meetings became weekly and parents came along to help.

I have I think attended most of the fund-raising events and it got to the point, that if friends saw me out somewhere where there were crowds they always looked for the orange bucket and the rest of the team. We have had fun and made lots of friends doing it.  
 
A couple of weeks before the OFF, Alan informed me he had passed my phone no onto Tim & Andy at Hrg 24hr travel and could I talk to them about the flights. That was back in July 2006 and I have not stopped since. We have planned between us all the flights for the young adults and co-skippers. Alan planed the stops then told me the Airports and Marinas he wanted to use, and the dates he hoped to be in these places. We had to then find the cheapest way to get everyone there and back again.

Not only was it flight arrangements, but in some countries we had to arrange visa’s as well. These can cause real head-aches as we have found out.
 
Normally everything went according to plan, but occasionally things went wrong; Christmas 2006 on Boxing day there I was enjoying watching the tug-of-war down at the Camber, with my RNLI collection bucket, when I get a text from Alan in Panama;
‘Paul won’t be joining me today can you find me another co-skipper and get him to Panama tomorrow please’.
 
I still don’t know how we managed it, but 4 hours later I had tracked down Duncan who was out for a walk with his parents in Cornwall and he was booked on a flight out of Gatwick 1145 next day. But even then it did not all go according to plan! I got a phone call from Duncan at midnight saying he had missed his connection to Panama due to the plane being late in, so could I let Alan know he would be 12hours late arriving. All worked out well in the end though.

I think we have only had to alter flights on 3 occasions due to the late arrival of the boat because of bad weather. I might have been on the phone making back up plans a few times but we’ve not had to actually change things any more than that, something I think HRG and the team can be proud of.
 
Most of the youngsters had never flown before, or even been out of the country, so I also tried to prepare them with all the details for filling out immigration forms and so on, especially with all the new security regulations that are in place at all the airports.
 
Most people, I think, have the impression of the Control Centre of a round-the-world expedition being an office filled with computers, ship-to-shore radios, telephones and always with plenty of bodies to man them 24/7!!

This is not so with us. If Alan is here, which is not very often, then I admit he does have 2 computer screens flashing in his office. But normally the control centre is one old computer, a normal land line and a mobile phone placed in my attic room at home and me.
 
Another of my jobs has been to collect and post the daily position reports/updates and crew news and to pass on any other info to or from the boat as required.
 
As you can imagine at 60 years old, Lively Lady does have a few problems and needs regular repairs and renewals to keep her in tip top condition. That meant there was always a shopping list on the go and of course these items then had to be got to the crew before they flew out on their legs!

It was normal to see me with my Raymarine bag over my shoulder filled with T-shirts, matches, kitchen utensils, lilo’s fuel filters, electrical parts and various other items I got asked for.
 
When I flew back from Jamaica I came back with a water logged lap top over one shoulder and a ships compass over the other. I’m still not sure how I managed to get through customs with the new ruling on no liquids in the cabin and I nearly died when, in all innocence, the young lad that was flying back with me started to say something about the fluid that is leaking out of the compass!
 
While Lively Lady was away I think my most important job was being the voice on the end of the phone 24/7 for all the families of both Young Adults and co-skippers. They knew if ever they had any worries or fears I was always there to try and help in any way I could.

We started this project almost all of us total strangers, but we are now a large family not only in this country but world wide. With family scattered around the world I have managed to persuade some off them to host the young Adults and co-skippers, all a bit warily I must admit, but it did mean I had an excuse to accompany them and catch up with my family
 
The stop in Melbourne where we had the refit was easier than expected for me as Graeme West had a team of volunteers working with him to do all the hard work on the hull and deck, so it was just the finishing touches that I had to do.
 
I did get the Fremantle stop organized with the help of my parents (my father, who last worked for Fremantle Port authority in Western Australia, used some of his contacts there to help host Lively Lady on that stop over). That turned into a really good stop with Lively Lady being the centre of attention at Fremantle Sailing Club the whole time she was berthed there, so my time was filled with meeting and greeting people. As well as being the taxi driver, for all daily trips to and fro, and the airport runs, anyone that knows Australia knows nothing is just around the corner, when Mum and Dad offered I don’t think they realized they would have eight people land on their door step, plus me who was never there, not really what they thought would happen, but it gave them a kick to know they too had become part of the Lively Lady Project and really enjoyed meeting the young adults that stayed with them.
 
The last few months of the project have still been busy there was no let up with the fund raising and a few of the young adults have had to swap their legs about due to exams etc, so no peace for the wicked. Plus I have tried to work closely with Clare and the rest of the team on the homecoming.
 
I know at times the Young Adults have probably hated me  always being on at them, I have certainly had enough, on a few occasions when Alan has had to calm me down, and persuade me to carry on, saying July is nearly here.

Working so closely with all the young crew, I have seen them grow into young adults that we are very proud of. It’s not just me that has noticed it either - even when we have been doing bag-packing at Waitrose people have come up to me and said how they have grown up since starting the project and how proud we must be of them and ourselves for achieving what we have. That is not just getting Lively Lady around the world but having a team that has proved that if you put your mind to it ‘We CAN DO IT’
 
Looking back would I do it again? I don’t know – ask me again in 6 months’ time! But I have to say for the majority of the time I have enjoyed what I have done; I have learnt an awful lot and made lots of new friends right around the world, and it has kept me busy for the last two and a half years which I know has been a good thing.

Originally, Alan asked me just to help him with antifouling Lively Lady ready for the 'Round the Island race' in 2004. I have been on board ever since! Antifouling was just the beginning of it and the jobs I now do for the project are wide and varied.

With my Project Coordinator hat on, I arrange and attend all the fundraising meetings and events – if there's a bucket needs shaking or bags to be packed, I'm normally there! As well as that, I try to keep everyone focused on getting the money rolling in and worry about it when it does not happen. I arrange the sail training for everyone and arrange all the travel for Young Adults and Co-skippers (including sorting out visa's and making sure that everyone has all the right paperwork and knows where they have to be and when and that they have all the right kit for the trip). If necessary, I act as Chaperone and frequently am taxi service to and from the airport for the Young Adults and their families. I’m on call 24/7 for the crews’ families when they’re away and I’m the central point for distributing the journals when they come in from the boat, making sure they get put on the website and sent to our supporters around the world. And, as well as all that, I try to arrange hosting in countries where I have contacts and liaise with Marinas to make sure there’s a friendly welcome when the boat gets in.

With my bosun’s hat on my jobs have been the preparation of Lively Lady for the trip; painting, cleaning and catering for both refits before she left and also continuously looking after the boat while she's been in the marina in the UK. Now the voyage is underway, I also locate any spares for the boat that can’t be purchased locally and get them to the next crew to take out with them. I’ll also be responsible for over-seeing the refit while Lively Lady is in Australia.

That’s just the bits I can think of at the moment, but it seems there’s always something to add to the job description!

Being involved with the project has helped me get some of my confidence back and, at the same time, knowing I am helping towards giving the young adults a once in a life time chance in something so special as Lively Lady is a good feeling. The enthusiasm they all have for the project is great and I feel privileged to be helping them move on with their lives.