Meet PBO's David Selby at this year's Southampton Boat Show

Dave Selby will be at the Southampton Boat Show to talk about his his his 338-mile trip from Maldon to Southampton on his Sailfish. Dave's 'Marlin's Mission' has so far raised £3,650 for the Guillain-Barré charity.

14 September

PBO’s columnist Dave Selby has arrived at Town Quay Marina in Southampton. He sailed 338-mile from Maldon in Essex on his 18ft Sailfish and has already raised £3,650 for the Guillain-Barré charity (www.gaincharity.org.uk).

But in Dave’s words this is not the end, ‘This is just the beginning.’

Selby is hoping to raise ‘a shed load more money’ for charity while exhibiting at the Southampton Boat Show from Friday, September 16 to Sunday 25 September and has also hinted that he has another challenge up his sleeve.

Dave, set off from Maldon in mid July on Marlin’s Mission. He was seen off by a flotilla of well wishers who included Maldon’s Mayor and Mayoress.

The sailor and columnist, who suffers from the rare viral Guillain-Barré Syndrome, completed the mission in stages as weather, time and health allowed.

If you are visiting the Southampton Boat Show this September, make sure you visit Dave’s stand and hear all about his incredibly inspiring voyage.

See below for Dave Selby’s schedule and stand at the show.

11 August

Dave Selby is getting ready to set off on his next leg of Marlin’s Mission.
Selby is planning to leave Dover very early on Sunday 14 August and arrive in Eastbourne later in the day. On Monday Dave will sail to Brighton.

Dave said: “The last leg was a blast – literally. Left Limehouse in London on Tuesday 2 August and got into Dover on Friday 5 August, 110 miles in four days with strong westerlies and south-westerlies all the way. The high-point had to be the 40-mile seven-hour blast from Queenborough on the Kentish Thames to Ramsgate. I had Sailfish mates David Longfield and Mark Berry on board, and frankly I wouldn’t have set off at all if I’d been by myself. It was well breezy.
The low-point had to be leaving London. Limehouse Marina and the Cruising Association were great, but the river’s not what it was. The adventure RIBs thrashing about down as far as the 02 arena made sailing literally impossible. These high-speed “thrill rides” should be in a theme park not on the Thames. It’s dangerous.”.

Dave will be ending his journey at the Southampton Boat Show. He will be making an appearance at the yearly event to talk about his voyage. The schedule is:

Programme & Exhibits: Marlin’s Mission, stand A134

Exhibits: Marlin, Dave’s Sailfish 18, Hurley 20, unveiling of PBO project boat, Seasafe, Silky Marine, Seajet, Oceansteer, SBS Trailers, Claudia Myatt

Friday 16, 10.45am: Marlin’s Mission press conference on stand.

Daily from Saturday 17, 10.30am: Get Afloat, Get A Boat: Sailing has never been more affordable. Dave Selby and his expert team will tell you everything you need to know to buy a budget boat and enjoy holidays for a life-time for a fraction of the cost of a single family holiday.

Saturday 17, Special Guest, Sam Llewellyn. The noted maritime author and PBO columnist will be giving a talk about “the minimum boat” and signing copies of his popular nautical novels and books.

Friday 16-Sunday 18: Renowned Marine Artist Claudia Myatt, who illustrates Dave’s columns in PBO, will be painting live at the show and hosting a selling exhibition of her wide-ranging work, from cartoons to paintings, PBO mugs and books.

Daily from Saturday 17, noon: Seasafe life-jacket clinic: Seasafe, who’ve supplied Dave’s custom life-jackets and safety equipment, are holding daily life-jacket clinics, offering life jacket checks, advice and a collection point for servicing, and a special discount show offer.

Daily from Saturday 17, afternoons from 2pm: Practicals and Demos.

Dave, the PBO team and Seaglaze will be replacing the boat windows on Dave’s Sailfish live at the show.
Dave and Silky Marine will be sprucing up the tired, faded hull and rust-stained deck of Dave’s Sailfish using Silky Marine’s boat cleaning products.

Seajet will be on hand to give expert tips and guidance on anti-fouling.

SBS Trailers will demonstrate how you can transform a tired old boat trailer into a versatile go-anywhere trailer that makes launch and recovery easier.

Oceansteer: The emergency rudder company will demonstrate their latest system for small boats.

28 July

After months of preparation PBO’s columnist Dave Selby set off from Maldon, Essex, on his 18ft Sailfish Marlin on Saturday July 9.

A flotilla of 12 boats including craft from Maldon Little Ship Club (MLSC) of which Selby is a member, and the Maldon Gig Rowing Club, escorted the sailor down the river Blackwater, wishing him bon voyage.

The Mayor and Mayoress of Maldon were also in attendance, on board of the yacht Lyra.

Mayor Richie Miller said: ‘This had been a fantastic send off for Dave and we have thoroughly enjoyed the amazing experience of escorting him down river despite the blustery conditions. It is always good to promote Maldon’s wonderful waterfront and river in this way and we have been pleased to support Dave Selby for his courageous undertaking of Marlin’s Mission. We wish him well.’

Dave’s voyage will culminate at the Southampton Boat Show in September, where he’ll be hosting talks about his trip and ways of sailing on a budget.

After setting off on the 9th Dave arrived in London on his boat.

After arriving in London he had to briefly go back home when he was due in hospital for his regular check ups to manage the viral condition Guillain-Barré Syndrome from which he suffers and he’s raising money for.

Dave will set off some time early next week, weather allowing, on the next leg from London to Kent and possibly Sussex. He aims to spend about a week on the boat.

Talking of his condition, the 57 year old said: ‘It’s an illness that affects the peripheral nervous system, and I’ve got an even rarer variant called CIDP, which means the messages stop getting through to my legs about every four and a half weeks. Then I go into hospital for three days and antibodies from the blood of 800 donors literally give me legs for another month. Humbling.’

Follow Dave’s progress on YBW.com and Twitter (@ImpracticalBoat).

To support the adventurer’s charity, you can donate by clicking on this link https://www.justgiving.com/fundraising/Dave-Selby-Marlins-Mission.

22 March

Practical Boat Owner columnist Dave Selby is gearing up for the adventure of a lifetime in his 18ft Sailfish.

The east coast sailor will be setting off from Maldon in June or July on his boat ‘Marlin’s Mission’ to sail to the Southampton Boat Show in September, where Marlin will be on display to promote sailing to a new audience.

Selby will be stopping off at marinas along the way and sharing tales of his adventures and all the behind-the-scene preparations on his blog at pbo.co.uk, along with regular updates in the monthly print magazine and at here at ybw.com.

Once at the Southampton Boat Show Marlin will provide a stage to put across the message that small-boat sailing can provide ‘holidays of a lifetime, for a life-time, for £2,000.’ For existing boaters, Dave will be hosting practical demonstrations of boat maintenance, repair and restoration.

The columnist and sailor, who suffers from a rare viral condition called Guillain-Barré Syndrome will also be raising money for his charity (www.gaincharity.org.uk). He added: “This is not a commercial enterprise, I simply want to share all that sailing has to give with others.

“There’s a myth that boating is expensive. In fact, there’s an ever-growing supply of cheap, small, affordable second-hand boats for less than half the price of one family holiday. Second-hand boats have never been more affordable, and they can open up a life-time of adventure. That’s Marlin’s Mission.”

From his base in Maldon, on the river Blackwater in Essex, Dave, 56, will start preparations in April and aims to set off in July, in short hops around the coast as weather, health and time allow. Dave is appealing for the marine trades to get behind the project and would appreciate hearing from marinas and equipment suppliers who’d like to help the adventure on its way.

On his travels he hopes local sailors around the coast will sail in company with him and join him aboard Marlin. For more information and to get involved, contact Dave at dave@rollingassets.com or on 01621-854978.