Travel agent Bridget Keevil is setting off this weekend for an 11-month-long fundraising trip in aid of Abta LifeLine.
TravelStop founder and owner Keevil departs this Sunday on the Clipper 2015-16 Round The World Yacht Race. She is leaving husband Paul in charge of the three-branch agency in Elmswell, Claydon and Hadleigh.
In a pre-departure fundraising push, Keevil threw a ‘bon voyage’ party attended by friends, family and travel industry colleagues which included a raffle, auction and entertainment and raised £1,752 in aid of Abta LifeLine.
Keevil – who has described the trip as the “biggest challenge of her life” – is aiming to raise £5,000. The total raised so far is £2,082.
She plans to report on progress in her blog, thefatbirdandtheboat.wordpress.com. In her latest excerpt, she described how she left the packing for her long trip until the last minute. “I did get the packing done – and half an hour before the taxi arrived… I haven’t actually ever been ready on time before, so that probably means I haven’t got everything that I need!”
The official naming ceremony for Bridget’s yacht is being held on Wednesday August 26 at St Katherine Dock in London, the departure point for Sunday’s race. Her group’s yacht is being sponsored by Da Nang city in Vietnam.
The race includes Vietnam for the first time in 2016 when the yachts race from the Whitsundays in Australia to Da Nang.
To donate go to justgiving.com/bridgetkeevil.