Pass me the paddle, I'm off to Monaco
Most exhibitors arrive on the Cote d’Azure for the Monaco Yacht Show using airplanes, boats, cars and even trains as forms of transport, yet one man plans to paddle there.
Chris Allix, a 58-year-old company director is going to leave his base in the Isle of Man and travel to Monaco by kayak!
Even his nearest and dearest doubted his sanity when he first told them of his plan to paddle the estimated 2,000 miles by way of sea, rivers and canals in aid of five children's charities, but they all agreed, he says, that he was mad enough to succeed.
Kayak Chris faces challenge of a lifetime - for charity
Chris, director of the Isle of Man-based ICM Group, has a close relationship with the sea and Monaco through his company Dominion Marine Corporate Services the Manx yacht registration business.
He has spent the last nine months preparing for this his personal challenge of a lifetime. He has done so training in Manx coastal waters and in arduous conditions in the Lake District. Now weighing 16 stone he has lost three stone in weight and learned the hard way how to refine his kayaking skills in some of the toughest white water conditions imaginable.
The planned route, starting this summer, will take him across the Irish Sea to England down through the English canal network to Dover and the English Channel where he hopes to cross to France,"
Then he takes on the French canals and rivers making my way south to arrive in The Principality in time for the first day of the Monaco International Yacht Show on September 21.
He says, "It will be a long and incredibly difficult task but although this will be my challenge of a lifetime, it's really all about raising money for the children's charities - so I need a lot of help and support from sponsors."
To help achieve his objective, Chris has set up his own special website under the banner 'Man to Monaco'. Apart from providing route details, regular information and updates, it also appeals for corporate and individual sponsors.
