Well it’s winter and it was time to take my beach loot board on a mission. In this one we are in a local inland water way close to my home. We go down the the river Cusher from a little town called Tandragee to my home town of Portadown. The river is nicely flooded and made for easy going when you got the hang of standing on the board. This stretch of river that we done was about the only passable bit for a paddle board so pleased with that little run. The river itself has a mass of wildlife from great wild trout fishing,kingfisher birds,buzzards,mink,ducks geese aww just so much. My friend Jamie came along for this one and he really had a great time. There is a couple of videos I’ve done previously which will kind of compliment each other. The videos are call The Newry canal and Where it all began. It’s just amazing even when it’s cold and damp nature and the outdoors are an awesome place to get your head showered and where you can come to life. I advise anyone and everyone to get out there and start living you can always find adventures close to home are you can always find someone that will take you on adventures ...don’t let this life pass you by get out there explore more adventure more just start living
The Point of Whitecoat is where three waterways meet: the Bann, the Cusher River and the Newry Canal, the first inland canal in the Brittish Isles
So come take a look at another hobby of mine which has been in my blood from about the age of 12. The mountains is a place I love to escape to when I’m not sailing you can create that same feeling that your away from the rat race it’s back to you against nature no room for messing up are the consequences are serious. I bring an old lifelong friend with me on this one to get his first winter camp in during these conditions. So showing Tam around and taking it easy we went first to Percy Byshee Cave then up to Blue Lough at the base of Slieve Lamagan. There is a little American history from around here during ww2 the Americans practiced bombing up here on Blue lough and Slievelamagan in the Mourne mountains and not far from this spot over on Chimney Rock Mountain a bomber crashed in bad weather ...so if your from over the pond and like that kind of history get onto the web.. ..anyway here is something different for you before the next sailing video is out ..Hope you enjoy.
Percy Byshee Cave
The 'PERCY BYSSHE' rock outcrop in the Mournes is named after the English poet Percy Bysshe Shelley who is believed to have visited the area around 1812. It is near the Blue Lough on the Binnian side of Slieve Lamagan. The left hand side has a narrow, deep cave used by Mourne smugglers in past centuries.
Read the full story of five crew members of B26 41-18150 ("Winnie Dee") who lost their lives on Chimney Rock Mountain on the 10th April 1944 in the service of the their Country RIP
Avoid Hypothermia and Frostbite
When exposed to cold temperatures, your body begins to lose heat faster than it can be produced. Prolonged exposure to cold will eventually use up your body’s stored energy. The result is hypothermia, or abnormally low body temperature. Body temperature that is too low affects the brain, making the victim unable to think clearly or move well. This makes hypothermia particularly dangerous because a person may not know it is happening, therefore won’t be able to do anything about it.
Hypothermia is most likely to be a danger at very cold temperatures, but it can also occur even at cool temperatures (above 40°F) if a person becomes chilled from rain, sweat, or submersion in cold water.
Frostbite is an injury to the body that is caused by freezing. Frostbite causes a loss of feeling and color in affected areas. It most often affects the nose, ears, cheeks, chin, fingers, or toes. Frostbite can permanently damage the body, and severe cases can lead to amputation. The risk of frostbite is increased in people with reduced blood circulation and among those who are not dressed properly for extremely cold temperatures.
Just like to wish you all a very merry Christmas and a wonderful productive new year. It’s been great having you all there with me while I adventure it’s been great meeting people on my travels and connecting with so many through the channel also Instagram and my Facebook. I’d just like to thank you all from family,followers,friends along with Van Spares Ltd a local business and everyone that’s donated on the go fund me page to help me keep the adventures going it’s very much appreciated so again I wish you all a very MERRY CHRISTMAS AND A HAPPY NEW YEAR
Check Out the Round Britain Stages Done before the Mourne Venture and gradually being uploaded in date order as we circumnavigated the UK in Style 2020
Well I thought I'd just put the Epic Round Britain 2020 into Context . we circumnavigated the waters in an Anti-Clockwise Direction . In case you have'nt realised you can see all the Legs on the 2020 UK Adventure on the Maps YELLOW Legs Feature My Journeys Map on the right which also links directly to my You Tube . Here is a brief overview of some of the Legs of the Journey we followed working backward to were we started . As we observed and explored we stopped off and made Videos at the Ports , marinas that we stopped at . We were in no hurry to leave the Hebrides and as you can see from my Blog and the You Tube Channel we made many videos of Castles , Mountains and everything we came accross as we travelled. My crewe on the journey was of course Mr Boyd who is worthy of thanks for his hard work and antics !! We had the " Just Because " my Sigma 33 Boat on the Waves form March till the Beginning of October and what a time we had . - One Life - Live It !!!
When I finishing uploading the last journey leagues I'll be adding to this post and review by adding comments to the journey legs telling of the highs and lows of the adventure. I'll also fill in some of the posts with links , history , images and details should you set your course to make a similar visit again A BIG Thank You to EVERYONE who made a donation on the GO FUND ME page to help make it possible to bring you these Videos and to promote Sailing for Ordinary Folk
Please pop back and revisit the post when I have updated with highlights and comments summing the Round Britain Epic as I load the last legs of the journey
The Big Mourne Challenge - 40 Miles - 21 Peaks For Mental Health Charity
Well a mega challenge 40 miles and 21 summits just one short on what was planned. The Mournes 7 peaks challenge followed by the Mourne wall challenge two hard routes in the kingdom of Mourne Northern Ireland (google them) and what makes this harder is doing it at this time of year leaving from a tent that we stayed in as our base not from the comfort of home. It was completed in a day and a half. The challenge was as follows 7 peaks first done by Jason and myself and the second part the Mourne wall was all three of us. We done this challenge for Mental health UK. Just like to say thank you to all who donated. I want to make this clear this is no easy task and I do not advise it if you do not have the know how skill are kit because things can turn bad here in a blink of an eye and death is very possible. So please take caution in the mountains in winter. It’s very important to fuel well stay well hydrated during this challenge. The 7s challenge went reasonably well but wind rain and cold soon played a major part to this the very last mountain we had to ditch due to conditions worsening extremely high wind and driving rain with wind chill factors...I was not risking having anyone go down this day because help is a long time away and hypothermia is very fast mover...so we made along the Annalong valley which was a wet mucky track then we had to veer of for the saddle at Donard which isn’t pathed because I wanted the fastest route out of these hills and back to base camp...you could say we were in survival mode. Once back to camp Mark had a blazing fire lit not something I normally do but it was essential to warm up and dry clothes as we had a short rest period before moving again we also had kit to sort and replenish the rucksacks with fresh food 02.30 it was was now time for the Mourne wall challenge which all three of us was for doing...but first it was time to get well fed and coffee down the neck...I also had a quick talk over what was going to happen. This time the weather was better to us for most of the hike. The first mountain soon got my legs working again and it was down Donard and of for silent valley taking in the mountains involved following the wall....there was a brief stop for a few Ibuprofen. This challenge turned into a complete blur as we headed for Slieve Muck...the next few mountains were knocked out without hardly a word from anyone as it was brutal going ...but we were doing this clock wise which I think made it more brutal especially on Muck (I now hate that mountain) anyway we batters on mountain after mountain to big bad Slieve Bearnagh we were now exhausted but the goal was in sight we had to get this done ...there was a few slips and slides as we finished the last few mountains off but we made it we 🤬 nailed it. When back at camp we got food again and packed up camp leaving no trace ..but we know had 3 times the weight on our backs taking all the kit back down it was evil but we done it. So big thanks to the lads for coming along and taking on such a bitch of a challenge and nailing it. A massive thanks to those who donated to the charity. It was all about mental health and this challenge represented it well...because no matter how hard things are if you keep moving forward no matter how slow you will get through it. Remember it’s good to talk....it’s also good to get out there into nature go on give it ago ....you got this 👊👊
A SPECIAL THANKS AND WELL DONE TO JASON AND MARK ON THE BIG PUSH
Well you all know I like a challenge and pushing my body hard from time to time.. but this time it will be pushed to it’s limits in a 40 mile hike with 22 mountain summits in a day and a half max. I’ve left it for a day and a half as I have two new guys doing this with me Jason and Mark. Mark is completely new to this stuff and hasn’t done much of this kind of stuff so he will only be joining myself and Jason on the second half. Jason should have a fair idea what’s involved for the whole task including lots of pain and exhaustion. The date is set and will be going down in less than a week regardless to weather conditions. I do not advise this unless you know what your doing are you are with someone that knows exactly what they are doing. Remember if you want to do greater things put in the effort put in the work days weeks months years before it happens then you will be ready. The challenge I’m doing for the mental health uk. Why mental health? Well I can relate to it. I also know people that suffer some PTSD,Depression,Anxiety. Drinking hard ....it’s all to do with that old head...it’s nothing to be ashamed of and you know what you can still achieve stuff. Lots of people look at others and think ...hasn’t he are she got an awesome life they are always smiling and doing stuff I want to be like that ...be careful what you wish for because because people hide things well and you really don’t know what demons they fight you just keep looking forward and living your live. Anyway check out my Facebook page there is a public post of the donations for mental health UK FB. James Harrison (skipper James) and feel free to support.
Useful Information & Map Links On The Mourne Mountains
The Mourne Wall was constructed between 1904 and 1922 by the Belfast Water Commissioners to define and enclose the catchment area for the newly constructed Silent Valley Reservoir. The wall is 22 miles long, 1.5m high and 0.8m thick and is constructed entirely of granite from quarries around the Mourne Mountains using classic dry stone wall techniques. It encloses 9,000 acres of mountainous terrain and is designed to keep farm animals away from the reservoirs and rivers that flow into them.
It crosses 15 mountains. Starting at Hares Gap and working anti-clockwise they are: Slieve Bearnagh (727 m) Slieve Meelmore (684 m) Slieve Meelbeg (708 m) Slieve Loughshannagh (619 m) Carn Mountain (587 m) Slieve Muck (674 m) Slievenaglogh (445 m) Moolieve (332 m) Wee Binnian (460 m) Slieve Binnian (747 m) Rocky Mountain (525 m) Slieve Donard (850 m) Slieve Commedagh (765 m) Slieve Corragh (691 m) Slievenaglogh (586 m)
The wall passes the peak of each mountain except Rocky where it skirts the summit. It is also worth noting that there are two Slievenagloghs.
