What an absolutely incredible afternoon we all had in Portsmouth on Saturday. Lovely weather, warm with light winds, turning sunny as the day went on. Perfect for abseiling down the Spinnaker Tower!
I was pleased to have a support team (Tracy & Bri, Kim, Rosie, Harry, Jamie, Megan, Benji, & Katy - South Central Regional Fundraiser for Parkinson's UK) there to egg me on!
This abseil event was superbly organised by Extreme Horizons, the equipment (harnesses, ropes, shackles, etc) we used were first rate & in superb condition. Training & guidance was excellent. Safety was paramount!
While we were at the bottom of the Spinnaker Tower, looking up it looked a long way (100 metres / 330 feet) to the top. The Spinnaker Tower is apparently the second highest abseil in the UK - the Shard is #1. However, when our group of 6 trainee abseilers arrived at the top - the ground looked very far away!!! People looked like dots! At that point - the enormity of what we were about to do finally sunk in!
Please do take ~15mins to watch the video. At this point in the event - I had to take a leap of faith (or step at least). It's an incredible thing to truly put your life in the hands of another... While descending from the top - I started with a few inches at a time. As the abseil progressed and I got more confident: I did bigger progressions. It's a "weird" thing to feel the bounce in the rope!
As it had just been painted, we had to wear silly plastic overshoes - to avoid getting shoe marks down the tower. By the time we reached terra-firma - the overshoes had been thoroughly shredded!
Massive thanks to Zurich Community Trust for allowing us to piggyback onto their fundraising event (I was originally booked to abseil Guildford Cathedral in May 2020 - but due to COVID - this got delayed several times, then cancelled!). Huge thanks also to Parkinson's UK - for this fantastic & fun opportunity, to support their very worthy cause.
Thank you to all of the very kind folks who have sponsored & encouraged me so far. If you would still like to donate - it's not too late! Here is the JustGiving link - which finally closes for donations on 7th July 2021. After that date, please use this link.
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