So I guess it time for a really good catch up…
First off, who has been watching and tracking the Vendée globe with the same level of obsession as I have?
It’s been such an addictive race to follow; with all the boats being so close, the weather being just that bit different, and the stories so inspiring. I am a huge fan of Pip Hare; her storytelling alone makes you feel like you’re on the boat with her for every wave, every sail change, every setback, and every moment of happiness, for the entire journey. It has of course made me feel insanely jealous, but at the same time determined to keep trying to make it to the start line of the next Vendée myself.
The sponsorship hunt to make it all possible continues, with all of the team at HSR behind-the scenes working hard helping me to keep the dream alive. It’s not an easy time for sponsorship, with the world in the clutches of a pandemic, but that doesn’t mean I’m not still actively looking. I know that there is someone out there that wants to share this journey with me, and support me in achieving my lifelong dream, and after all, if there’s one thing I have said about this campaign it is that it was never going to be easy, but it would all be worth it!
Whilst we are in Lockdown 3.0, I have been keeping myself busy working from home, for Fieri, the leadership and development company that I work for. I have been lucky to give talks and workshops to some really lovely clients; one recently was Apple-which was a huge boost to my confidence.
The more speaking, presenting and online work I do, the more I realise how much I actually enjoy it. I do really miss being on the stage, and I remember back to February 2020 when I was on the stage in front of 2000 people from the GSK conference; there is nothing quite like the feeling of the massive audience, it certainly makes the story come alive, but we have all had to come up with new ways of working from home, and I am lucky to have the technology to enable me to do that.
Some other exciting news when it comes to my speaking and presenting came last week, when I was asked to give a keynote for the Global stress and well-being conference in November. Now itself I guess doesn’t really sound that big… But once I started reading the email I received a bit more, I realised that I would be speaking alongside none other than Mr Stephen Fry. So to me, this is huge… I never imagined I would be capable of speaking alongside someone as amazing as he is.
If you follow my social media, you’d also be forgiven for thinking that I now work for Peloton!
I am fortunate enough to have this amazing support from them, and I got my bike back in March, and the tread just last week!
Both the bike and the tread have been absolute game-changers for me as far as my aerobic fitness. They have also bought me some new friends, and the ability to connect to such a wide community, and I am absolutely loving working out at home. It’s really changed up the way I think about fitness, but also it is helping me look at my body in an entirely different way.
I’m pleased to say that team HSR also got a Fastnet entry for this year. Now I just have to work on finding us a boat to charter for the race 🙂
So other than working from home presenting and sharing my experiences, I am also giving up a lot of my time to support many of the charities that I work with. One in particular that I’m focusing on right now is Autism on the Water- a fantastic charity that gives opportunities to autistic people to get out on the water and experience the freedom of sailing. I met Murray a few years ago, and he asked me to become a trustee supporting him in growing the charity.
On that note, I hope you can join myself, Murray, and the lovely Lucy from Blind Sailing GB this Friday evening at 7 PM where we are having a virtual night out, and we’re being hosted by the Royal Oak pub in Weymouth on zoom! You can sign up for the chat on Facebook, and I’ve posted the link on my page.
H x
SAILING HANNAH 