Expected to pack a lot of food at sea for three months, one sailor has taken the packed lunch concept to a new level.
Andrew Bedwell, 48, of the swashbuckling, eats the wall of a boat just one meter long as he tries to cross the Atlantic Ocean with the smallest ship in history, dubbed the “Big C.” The 6-foot, 11.5-stone father designed a cabin with plenty of space to bend over.
The meal is in the form of a protein bar in a bag shaped to fit in all the gaps in the container, as his wife Tracy likens to a “big hen leaf bar” or “willy bin.”
“I seem to be eating a boat, but you’ll want to keep the most important part,” Bedwell of Scarisbrick, Lancashire, told The Telegraph.
“My seat may be made of food, as it may be molded into the back part of the seat.
“To improve the stability of the boat, you need to eat from the outside first. Select the boat from front left to front right, back left, back right.
“By the end of the aisle, I will have quite a lot of space.”
When leaving Newfoundland, Canada next May, a 1,000-calorie bag will be molded “in all available space.”
“It will taste pretty vulgar,” he said, “but it’s basically just doing the job. There’s nothing nice there of any kind-but my daughter is a weird skittle. May be included. “
He hopes the trade winds will take him to the lizard point in Cornwall within 90 days and will soon begin testing boats in Whitehaven, Cumbria.
This record is currently held by Hugo Vihlen, who made a dangerous journey on a 1.6m (5ft 4inch) boat 30 years ago.
Bedwell’s boat is 0.5 meters shorter, has a top speed of 2.5 mph, and is a modified version of the ship designed by another former record holder, Tom McNally.
Record attempts have raised funds for cancer research in honor of McNally, who died of the disease in 2017.
It took more than three years to build a boat with a height of only 3.5m (11.4ft) and a sail area of 8m (26ft).
“In rough conditions, it rolls everywhere,” Bedwell meditated. “It’s going to be two days of the worst move you can imagine on a roller coaster when you could be 1,000 miles away from anyone.
“On a roller coaster, we know it’s important to know that it’s 99% safe, but it’s not. Waves can do terrible things.
“I have a helmet with foam in it. My head is hitting the upper dome.
“I can bend down and cross my legs and push my arms out.”
Other changes made include a hose that allows Mr. Bedwell to use the toilet, but he does not expect to pass many bowel movements during the three-month voyage.
He is limited to 1,000 calories a day and expects that the biggest challenge is muscle atrophy, and on calm days he will be exercising up to 12 hours a day from the cabin.
He may not be interested in marine life because he is too slow to move, but he fears that encountering whales may cause problems.
“You may get on a boat and encounter a whale that attacks me,” he said. “Life is life.”
He admitted that he might spend much of his voyage, “crossing his fingers.”
“I always like to take on real challenges on the go-my wife often feels I’m a cracker-but I said I wanted to do something great before I was 50. . “