Helpers keep fundraising Shropshire sailor, 73, afloat
The 73-year-old Shropshire sailor who is attempting to circumnavigate Wales by water has overcome one of his biggest hurdles with the help of waterways volunteers.
Arnold Grayston, from Pant, near Oswestry, battled against dreadful weather and constantly changing water conditions to sail the hundreds of miles of coast around Wales, only to find out that silted lock gates prevented him from getting into the inland waterways system from the River Dee.
The lock gates had been stuck fast for four years.
However, hours of hard work by volunteers from the canals and waterways trust meant that as high tide arrived yesterday his rigid inflatable boat slipped through, not one but, two of the locks into the canal system at Chester, cheered on by volunteers and supporters.
From Chester he has now begun to make his way along the canals to the Llangollen and Montgomery canals to the River Morda near Oswestry and back to the River Severn and Shropshire, where he began his journey on May 24. He is taking the challenge to raise funds for the Severn Hospice where his wife, Karen, spent the final days of her life.
Yesterday as he reached the canals he was helped by a support crew to change over to the smaller of the two Suzuki engines more suited to canal and river conditions.
Mr Grayston said: "The support and help I have received on this journey from people I had never met before has been amazing."
His progress can be followed on www.allbywater.com and donations can be made via www.justgiving.com/allbywater
