Latest news with #James'Place
Scottish Sun
12-05-2025
- Scottish Sun
I'm braving shipwreck graveyard & Europe's largest WHIRLPOOL in bid to be 1st person to row solo around Britain
OAR-SOME I'm braving shipwreck graveyard & Europe's largest WHIRLPOOL in bid to be 1st person to row solo around Britain Click to share on X/Twitter (Opens in new window) Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window) A SHIPWRECK graveyard, Europe's largest whirlpool, vicious tides and the world's busiest shipping lane. These are just four of the hazards facing intrepid adventurer Angus Collins when he starts his mission to row around Britain in less than three weeks' time. Sign up for Scottish Sun newsletter Sign up 4 Adventurer Angus Collins will brave deadly seas solo in an attempt to become the first to row unassisted around Britain and raise £250k for suicide prevention Credit: Times Media Ltd 4 Angus and pals Joe Barnett, Jack Mayhew and Gus Barton win 3,000-mile Talisker Whisky Atlantic Challenge in 2016 Credit: ©Ben Duffy If successful, his challenge will raise £250,000 to save lives — and he will be doing it solo, with no assistance, in a boat just 20ft long. As well as his own 6ft frame, Angus's specially designed craft will have to carry 60 days' worth of food, a desalinator to turn sea water into drinking water and all his tech equipment to plot his route and monitor the weather. No one has ever managed to row solo and unassisted around the British coastline before, although many have tried and failed. But not only is the 35-year-old the country's most successful ocean rower, he also has a powerful motivation. Angus, who has broken records when crossing the Atlantic — twice — as well as the Pacific, said: 'Five years ago it looked like I had it all. Suicidal crisis 'I'd broken records, I had a successful boat-building business and I was travelling around the world to work with elite rowers and their teams. 'It was all I'd dreamed of, but inside I felt empty. Nothing I'd achieved gave me any happiness and I couldn't work out why. 'I started experiencing anxiety and panic attacks, and began to isolate myself from my friends and family, not replying to messages or answering their phone calls. 'I was living on a boat in Essex, and on my 30th birthday I told my family I was celebrating it with my friends, and told my friends I was with my family. 'What I actually did was attempt to take my own life, because I couldn't see a way that things would ever get better.' Mystery as huge WHIRLPOOL appears off the coast of Britain as everything from spawning fish to explosion blamed Angus was subsequently diagnosed with depression. He is now taking on one of the world's most dangerous rowing challenges to raise £250,000 for the charity James' Place, which offers immediate, free therapy and support to men in suicidal crisis. Angus, who lives in Hampshire, said: 'After I'd planned to take my own life I saw a psychiatrist who told me I had nothing to worry about, as I had a good support network, a good business and good friends. 'It just reinforced all the guilt I felt at having depression, when on the surface it looked like I had nothing to worry about. 'It wasn't until I met my partner Elsa that I finally found someone I could open up to, and she encouraged me to talk honestly about my mental health with a couple of close friends. 'I also found a psychologist who I could work with, and got medication to help with my depression. 'But talking honestly about how I was feeling is what really helped me, and that's exactly the kind of expert and essential therapy that James' Place provides immediately to men at risk of taking their own life.' This is Mental Health Awareness Week, which provides a moment to reflect on the fact that suicide is the biggest killer of men under 35 in the UK, and that the male suicide rate in England is three times higher than the rate for females. 4 Angus' route around the UK, leaving from Portsmouth on the south coast James' Place estimates that one life-saving intervention costs the charity £1,800, which means that by hitting his £250,000 target, Angus will save almost 140 lives. The charity was set up in 2018 by parents Clare Milford Haven and Nick Wentworth-Stanley in memory of their son James, who took his own life aged 21 in 2006 after he reported feeling suicidal following a minor operation. Specialist team It now has three centres, in London, Liverpool and Newcastle, where men receive six to eight free therapy sessions focused on helping them through a period of suicidal crisis. Angus first became aware of James' Place when he met James's brother Harry when they were competing for different teams in an Atlantic rowing challenge. He recalled: 'Harry's team was rowing to raise funds for James' Place. Each morning a bird would come and land on their boat, all the way to Antigua. 'I've probably seen three birds do that in over 300 days at sea, and it felt like something special was going on. I knew I wanted to do something special for them too.' A year ago, Angus began planning the challenge, named A Great British Odyssey, and designed and commissioned his rowing boat, which was built over the winter by a specialist team in the village of Millbrook, near Saltash in Cornwall. He said: 'The main reasons other people have not succeeded in this challenge before are the wrong boat and not managing the weather. "My boat has been specially designed for this challenge — for example, at 89kg it's very lightweight, and every kilogram counts, as I have to power it around the coastline. 'And while I can't control the weather I have a lot of experience in what's known as 'weathering' for other rowing teams. 'That means plotting the quickest and safest route, taking into account storms, tides, winds and other weather conditions.' Angus will set off from Portsmouth Harbour on June 1, and plans to complete the row in 30 to 60 days. He will be rowing almost 2,000 nautical miles clockwise around the coastline, and one of the first major dangers he will face is the shipwreck graveyard of Portland Race, a treacherous stretch of water off the coast of Dorset. One of the most feared tidal rapids on the British coastline, Portland Race is where several tides meet, causing monstrous waves. Consequently it is a notorious shipwreck site, with more than 400 documented sinkings. At almost the opposite end of the country, Angus will also have to negotiate the Corryvreckan whirlpool off the Isle of Jura, on the west coast of Scotland. Depending on the weather and the tides, Corryvreckan — meaning cauldron — has whirlpools up to 50m wide, waves which can reach 9m tall, and a roar that can be heard up to ten miles away. Angus said: 'I know it's going to be hard and there will be points when I'll definitely regret being out there, but I'm not fearful. Haribo sweets 'If there isn't a phone signal then I have satellite communications, so if something goes wrong I can always call for help.' He aims to row for up to 18 hours a day. He will row for eight hours, drop anchor and sleep for around four hours, then start again. Depending on tides and weather patterns, he will often be rowing through the night, which he prefers, as the temperature is cooler. The rules of the challenge mean he cannot accept any help with navigation or supplies, he can't come ashore, and at no point during the voyage is another boat allowed to touch his vessel. Before he departs, Angus will load up his boat with freeze-dried, protein-packed food, along with bags of Haribo sweets for quick energy, as he will be burning more than 6,000 calories and rowing 15,000 strokes per day. He said: 'At times during the row I'll be so close to the coastline that I'll be able to see families having a picnic on the beach, or people having a pint in a clifftop beer garden. 4 Angus's wife Elsa helped him open up to friends about his depression Credit: Instagram/anguscollinsbe 'It's at those moments that I'll really wish I was on dry land.' Angus comes from a seafaring family. He was born on the Pacific island of Guam, as his parents were setting up a scuba diving school there. His sister Bella has broken records rowing the Atlantic and mid-Pacific, and his grandfather was a world champion sailor in the Flying Dutchman world championships in 1965. Angus continued: 'I often say that my family are better on the water than we are on the land. 'I've taken on a lot of endurance challenges before but this will be the hardest 60 days of my life. 'But knowing that every stroke I row has the potential to save the life of a man like me is the best motivation I can imagine.'
BBC News
27-04-2025
- General
- BBC News
Man's 220-mile cycle for Liverpool charity that saved his life
A man who has said his life was saved by a suicide prevention centre is undertaking a 220-mile bike ride to raise funds for the Doyle, from Liverpool, said he had already made an attempt on his life when he was put in touch with the people at James' Place, a charity that offers free therapy to men in suicidal crisisThe charity was founded by the family of 21-year-old student James Wentworth-Stanley who took his own life in 2006."I was in a really dark place, I didn't know where to turn or who to speak to," Mr Doyle said, speaking of his own experience. 'Easy and safe' "I'm the last person you would think could go through something like that, I'm always smiling."When it happened everyone said the same thing, if it can happen to me it can happen to anyone."The 32-year-old said he was cycling from one of the charity's centres in Newcastle to the centre in Liverpool to raise funds for the charity and make people aware of the services it offers."They were unbelievable the staff. I had six or seven sessions and it wasn't like going into a hospital it's more warm and comfortable, it felt easy and safe to speak."I always said I wanted to raise money and make other people aware of the service they offer because I wasn't aware of them until it was nearly too late."Since I spoke openly the amount of people who got in touch to say they're going through something similar is scary, it opens your eyes." He will be making the 220-mile trip on 6 June with his brother-in-law, a group of five friends and his dad, who will be driving alongside them."We've hired a van just in case of any injuries so my dad is the designated driver because he wanted to get involved," he said."None of us have ever ridden a road bike but they all know how much the cause means to me."I appreciate them putting the work in and doing it I'm sure they could imagine better ways to spend their weekend."Last year, the group completed the Three Peaks challenge and raised more than £2,000 for the charity."We're so proud of Connor and all the amazing things he has achieved since leaving James' Place," Andy Noon, head of centre for James' Place Liverpool said."He is proof that you can overcome a suicidal crisis with the right help and thrive in the future."Suicide is the single leading cause of death for men under 35. James' Place has centres in Liverpool, London and Newcastle, with a fourth centre in Birmingham opening by early 2026. If you or someone you know are having feelings of despair or emotionally distressed, you can access advice and support here. Listen to the best of BBC Radio Merseyside on Sounds and follow BBC Merseyside on Facebook, X, and Instagram. You can also send story ideas via Whatsapp to 0808 100 2230.
