Feb 28, 2026
John-Kenneth Habbershaw's
3842
Two crewmates will use a tiny upcycled 50-year-old 'dinghy with a lid', a Leisure 17 sailboat, to cross the Atlantic Ocean alone and unassisted in aid of four charities: Macmillan*, Mind*, MS-UK, and St Helena Hospice.
The skipper, John-Kenneth 'JK' Habbershaw, is a health-retired Emergency Service volunteer. He started the project to assist and focus on his recovery from PTSD while also using the opportunity to spread help and hope to others. He needed to get up off his living room couch, so the 'Sofa To Sailboat' name was born.
Joining him is First Mate Farris Collins, a former Team GB powerlifter and four-time Commonwealth gold medal champion. He is no stranger to pushing himself to the limit; however, this challenge is an entirely new one for him, as he has never sailed before. Forget about "Couch to 5K"; his journey really is from Sofa To Sailboat!
Sofa To Sailboat has teamed up with leading maritime manufacturers to combine new technologies to ensure the crossing is safe while using only renewable energy: wind for the sails and solar power for a rechargeable electric outboard motor.
Our journey has begun. Join Us.
*50% of the Macmillan and Mind donations will be directly allocated by the charities to be used in the North East Essex, and East of England regions.
5 months, 1 week
Anonymous
£ 10.00
(+£2.50) Gift Aid# | Date sent | Audience | Content |
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Watch our video at: https://www.sofatosailboat.co.uk/post/2025-delay A bit of sad news. We had hoped to set off from Antigua to the UK in May, but we have postponed our expedition until December 2025. We will return to our original east-to-west route from mainland Europe or the Canary Islands to Antigua. We delayed our trip last autumn and moved our route from east to west due to problems with our paint system and our original gelcoat, which has turned porous. Unfortunately, those problems continued, but we applied five new layers of primer and three coats of two-pack top coat through outside temperatures as low as minus six. We have been waiting for a finishing specialist to complete the polishing/repairs and hope they can finish their work soon so we can start bolting on our hardware and windows. The ocean takes no prisoners, and learning from sailors before us, like Crowhurst, it is only too important to ensure that Poppet and her crew are one hundred present and ready for the Atlantic Ocean. Our crew are exhausted but committed to finishing Poppet and getting ready for a ‘splash’ launch in June. We hope to take Poppet to the Seawork exhibition in Southampton and then launch in the few weeks afterwards for initial sea trails. We’ll then carry out a summer of training and modifications whilst using every opportunity to fundraise at local and national events for our charities, represent further, and thank our patent sponsors. We’ll release more news and updates over the next few days and weeks, including a quick video tour of Poppet. If you can help us, please get in touch: Personal Sponsors: www.gofundme.com/f/sofatosailboat Please donate to our Charities: www.sofatosailboat.co.uk/donate Corporate Sponsors: www.sofatosailboat.co.uk/sponsor-information Skipper – 09/MARCH/2025
0 likesThanks to our friends at Z-Spar UK and Sta-Lok, Poppet now has a complete set of standing rigging! Some massive changes are coming soon, so we'll be ready for our Atlantic Adventure, which is in aid of our favourite charities.
0 likesWe're back safely from the Southampton International Boat Show, where we had a great time meeting our supporters and making some new friends, including Sir Robin Knox-Johnston and Alan Priddy. Poppet now has a rig (from Z-Spar UK), and we'll hopefully finish the installation this week so we can measure up for our new sail wardrobe. "Rain, rain, go away; please come again another day!" We're still urgently trying to make up for the commercial sponsor shortfall (they let us down), so if you know of any companies interested in supporting us, please get in touch! We have several opportunities available. We are trying to spend as much time as possible (between work and family life), on Poppets rebuild, and still hoping to have a departure this winter depending on funds and sea trials. Keep an eye on our Instagram and Facebook feeds for weekly updates
0 likesOn top of our skipper's spectacular water pump failure, he's been struck down with COVID for the third time! We hope the Barrow festival goes well, and hope we can join them in 2025. The skipper is feeling a bit sorry for himself, sitting in the dark, and sweating out the aches and pains. Worst of all he feels like he has let down our supporters, charities, and sponsors. Making the most of unplanned time off, a friend is coming at the weekend to help with further works on Poppet in readiness for her adventures. We'll keep you updated with new photographs and features. Our First Mate Farris Collins, recently finished his RYA Day Skipper theory, and this month he will take part in his Day Skipper Practical sessions. We always knew that crossing the Atlantic in a tiny 'dinghy with a lid' was going to be hard work, but at the moment the preparation feels like the hardest part! Keep an eye out for updates on our blog. The SofaToSailboat Team.
0 likesJuly News Letter Dearest Reader, It is time for our monthly update. JK and Farris spent the weekend clearing the workshop so that time can now be allocated to Poppets' paintwork over the following weeks before she is transported to Z-Spar for her new Mast and Boom, followed by Sta-Lok Terminals Ltd standing rigging and Robline running rigging. We recently received our refurbished self-steering windvane back from Hydrovane International Marine—a huge thanks to them and Lee for their extraordinary efforts. As we prepare for our trip, we often wonder what the most challenging part of our expedition will be. Could it be sea monsters, missing our family, hunger, weather, or isolation? The crew spent some quality time on the weekend discussing their fears, but a common theme was how hard the preparation has been recently. We have been promoting a few longstanding equipment suppliers' support, but when the time to give has come to deliver, they have let us down or 'quietly quit' (not responding to our calls or messages) despite us having written agreements. We suspect that other fundraisers experience similar situations, but for our skipper, it has deeply hurt his feelings. We have removed their branding from our website and social media, but we wonder if they should be named and shamed? The most frustrating thing is the time we have lost when we trusted and promoted them, and now we have to rebuild a partnership or find extra funding. All the effort distracts from our primary goal of raising £100,000 for our favourite charities. But the trip must go on! With approximately only 160 days until cast off, it is a busy five and a half months ahead of sea trials and boat shows! In December 2024, we will cross the Atlantic Ocean in our tiny upcycled 17-foot sailboat in aid of good causes and promote sustainable use of our oceans and waterways with The Green Blue. We are still seeking commercial sponsorship and donations to our charities. PLEASE DO NOT FORGET TO SHARE OUR ADVENTURE WITH YOUR FRIENDS AND COLLEAGUES AND ON YOUR SOCIAL MEDIA FEEDS! Visit www.sofatosailboat.co.uk #dinghywithalid
0 likesDid you see us at Seework 2024? We were visiting for three days, and thanks to the generosity of attendees, we raised an extra £201.46 in aid of our favourite charities.
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