Sailing the Belfast Loch

Saturday 14 July was the official start of our march sailing from Bangor in Northern Ireland to Troon in Scotland; letting the wind take the strain and our feet rest a bit longer yet. Myself and Mohammed from Kenya drew the short straw and were placed on the smallest sailing boat 'Nanuq' with our extremely welcoming skipper Peter.

Mohammed works for the organisation Northern Aid in Kenya, supporting pastorilists in northern Kenya as they struggle to cope with the demands of climate change. Droughts in northern Kenya have been occuring more frequently in the last twenty years due to rising temperatures. Mohammed is on the march to tell people of the problems of climate change, and to demand that rich countries reduce our emissions, and support communities who are suffering from the climate damage we have already caused. He is insistent that "it is not the emissions of the poor which are hurting my people".

As we set out to sea it was fantastic to feel the power of the wind taking us north to Scotland. Unfortunately, forecasts came in of very bad weather ahead, which our small boat might not be able to deal with, and our stomachs definitely wouldn't. So ourselves and the other smaller boat had to head back to Northern Ireland, whilst the largest sailing boat carried on to Troon.

When we docked in Carrickfergus, our Captain Peter gave Mohammed and myself a shirt with 'Nanuq' on it which I will definitely treasure for the rest of the march. Mohammed may not when he gets home; 'Nanuq' means 'to breastfeed' in Somali.

We eventually arrived in Troon on Sunday morning on the ferry from Larne. Having been fooled by the usual cheap airline trick of giving aiports names from miles away from where they are actually situated, I hadn't realised Glasgow Prestwick airport is next to Troon. As we watched plane-after-plane fly overhead Mohammed said to me: "This is what I don't like, all these planes. They never stop. Does no one realise the damage they cause?"

Walking miles covered: 0 (!?)
Beer: V. poor; not a sight of a cask ale in N.Ireland...
Hospitality: Fantastic