I feel so terrible, enjoying a lovely warm summer, riding my bike with friends, having barbecues… All the while, Constellation is battling sub-zero temperatures, snowstorms, loneliness and a lack of love…

Thanks so much to Jeff W. of Greenport for the photograph - !

Also many thanks for all the votes in my recent attempts to win over the ING $10,000 ‘My Dream Is‘ competition - [update] Winners already announced, we didn’t win! As they say in Germany… ‘Schade’. Nevermind, I’ve gotten this far; we’re unstoppable!

Now, since I’m not doing much sailing at the minute (take a look at that photo up there again), you should go and see what Lee Winters is up to - He’s just started his dream of sailing solo around the world, with Jargo his boat, and his gorgeous malamute friend Georgia. Lee is also responsible for a very possible change of plans next year… Don’t worry, the voyage is definitely not going on hold, but only getting slightly more mad. More on that later…

If I don’t post before 25th - Merry Christmas to all those who celebrate it! With particular attention to all who are alone for whatever reasons. Two Christmas’s ago I was in England, alone on a freezing boat with a stupid idea, a six pack of Tesco’s mince pies, and tea candles to heat the cabin:

Nick.

My dream is to finish this voyage: To truck Constellation overland to San Francisco, sail the South Pacific, ride a bicycle across America, and sail through the heads into Port Phillip Bay, Melbourne - I’d like to achieve this by the end of 2009. ING Direct in Australia are offering a prize that could make that happen - They’re offering $10,000 as first prize for their ‘My Dream Is’ competition. This voyage fits perfectly into the criteria, and so I’ve entered. The competition rules encourage entrants to include ING branding in their photo - I’ve attempted that, and I hope the message of what I’m trying to do comes across.

Click on the above image or here to vote and rate it as ‘5′. The public choose the top 100 images for the competition, and then after that, it’s up to panel at ING to decide who’s dream is worth funding!

It will only take a minute of your time, and doesn’t require you to fill out a form, enter your details, or anything else - Just a mouse-click. Voting stops on the 14th of December. (Note: The site takes a while to load properly - Give it a second)

Thanks everyone! nick