Sir David Hempleman-Adams sailed over 5000 miles across the Atlantic Ocean to raise awareness of St John Ambulance.
After 44 days at sea on a 43-foot yacht, David overcame many obstacles and setbacks along the way. He hopes his epic journey has inspired people to push their boundaries, and get out of their comfort zones to try something new.
As a novice sailor, the explorer's limits were tested by many challenges. These included, sleep deprivation, difficulties with technology, terrifying storms, and resulting damage to the boat.
Due to some ongoing technical glitches that nearly risked him ending his challenge, he took a pit stop in Spain. Nonetheless, David was determined to continue to the USA. For the rest of his journey he was joined by friend and highly skilled sailor, Nick Davey.
‘This was one of the biggest tests of my life, and I hope that seeing me overcome the challenges we faced and push myself completely into the unknown has inspired those who’ve followed our journey, especially young people, to try something new.'
- Sir David Hempleman-Adams
Supporting St John Ambulance
Sir David has been an advocate for St John Ambulance for more than 25 years and a trustee since 2012.
‘We’re very proud of Sir David’s incredible achievement and hope that it will have inspired many across the generations to seek a new adventure. We are fortunate to have such a determined and inspiring individual as an ambassador for our charity.’
- Martin Houghton-Brown, Chief Executive
Go on your own Voyage of Discovery
You can try something new and go on your own Voyage of Discovery with St John Ambulance.
You can join up as a volunteer to learn new skills, meet new people, and gain new experiences. You can also take on one of our fundraising challenges to help us put our first aid trainers in schools, equip our volunteers, and run our ambulances.
Image by Felix Kunze.
