A HOLYWOOD man who sailed 1000 miles around Ireland in memory of his best friend, has raised £11,000 for charity.
Gavin Vaughan arrived back at Bangor Marina last Wednesday, where he was greeted with warm smiles and cheers following a month-long circumnavigation of Ireland in memory of his best friend Neale McCullough.
The pair, who had met at Holywood’s Royal North of Ireland Yacht Club in the 80s, struck up a friendship as they raced against each other and acted as crew mates over the years.
As both their families grew, the two friends often discussed their future sailing plans and decided they would one day like to sail around Ireland together.
Unfortunately the pair never got the chance, after Neale was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer, aged 60, on December 30 2022. Six weeks later, Neale passed away.
To pay tribute to his friend, Gavin decided to make their plans a reality, while raising funds for cancer charity Northern Ireland Pancreatic Cancer (NIPANC), which works to improve the outcomes of people with pancreatic cancer.
Gavin began his 30-day expedition at the beginning of last month, leaving Bangor Marina in his vessel Toucan, a Jeanneau SO 349, with a list of crewmates who would aid him along the way, including Neale’s wife Wendy and children Zoe, Adam, Toby and Megan.
Along the way, Gavin spread Neale’s ashes with his family and such days were filled with emotion as they said goodbye as the sun smiled down at them.
Gavin began planning his ‘bucket list’ journey over the winter, looking at potential ports and alternative ports for bad weather days, available facilities and of course putting together a list of crew members.
Facing some adverse weather along the way, Gavin and his crew were delighted to see some sunshine in the last few days of the journey, allowing them a chance to recover from the previous weather battering they had received in the weeks before.
He said: “I don’t think I’ve ever looked at weather forecast and tidal charts as much in such a short period of time. I was up four or five times a night to look at the weather to see what was happening.”
“It was an adventure, an experience and I’m not sure we will repeat it too quickly,” he joked.
While Gavin had always hoped to complete the journey with Neale, he felt his friend was with him, especially on the days when they scattered his ashes.
“If Neale was still around he would have been on the trip,” he said.
Gavin added that he had been overwhelmed with the support he had received in his fundraising efforts and paid tribute to Neale’s daughter Megan for running a blog while he sailed and to Wendy for allowing Neale to come with him on his journey.
Speaking to his friend, he simply said: “We did it.”
Neale’s wife Wendy said her husband would have loved to have been part of the crew that travelled around Ireland, noting his love of sailing.
“Neale got into sailing when he was very young and he really enjoyed it. He raced the big boats when he was younger but as he got older he really enjoyed the cruising element of it,” Wendy said.
Wendy noted how both Neale and Gavin’s plans of sailing around Ireland were not to be and so when Gavin said he would like to do it in his memory, while scattering his ashes along the way, his family happily agreed.
“We took some of his ashes with us and scattered them in various locations as we went round,” Wendy said.
“It was so emotional. We had scattered some of Neale’s ashes in different places already, but to do that was quite spectacular. For me the most poignant was at Fastnet Rock.”
Wendy noted how Fastnet Rock, off County Cork, usually had rough seas, but on the day they scattered Neale’s ashes, they were met with clear skies and calm seas.
Wendy commended Gavin’s fundraising efforts, noting how they initially had hoped to lift £2,000 for NIPANC.
“Hopefully the funds can be put to good use because it is the most brutal disease. It is so cruel how it takes so quickly and completely takes over,” Wendy said.
Wendy added how her husband had been prepared to take on the severe treatment course to try and take on the disease, but never had the chance to put up a fight with how quickly it advanced.
To donate to Gavin’s fundraising efforts, visit: nipanc.enthuse.com/pf/gavin-vaughan
