Team Brimble

For those of you who have read the classic mountaineering book 'The Ascent of Rum Doodle' the crew of the good ship Brimble are as follows: 

Name: Señor Jorge Draycott 

Station ⚓️: Vibes Officer

Bio 💬: With unquivering optimism this man threw himself into the mix to do a good couple months leg in the Caribbean - the only problem is however… he has never sailed. No problem, Jorge has just finished a a test on board the good ship to see what he thinks and im glad to say he seemed to enjoy it. Along with the witty comment that spark frequent comedic moments, Jorge was also our resident local when in Spain, knowing all the ins and outs he has all the knowledge, connections and linguistics needed to find the best bars, restaurants and attractions.

A keen fisherman, catching us 5 Mackerel and pulling us ahead in our tight competition, Jorge is also handy at the grill and whipped up some lovely sandwiches as fresh as they come.

He’s now off travelling and will be picking up the boat for a long leg in a few months. So all the best - see you on the road.

Skills🔧: Fishing, Backhanded compliments, Family connections, sinking the boat with the toilet, Spanish

🟩Likes🟩: Blaming things on Lee(ward), System reboots, chucking hats in the water, ‘Nanas, digging holes, fresh cold beers whenever possible, Solar Showers, Napping

🟥Dislikes🟥: renfre trains, kids untying the, the outboard, being splashed whilst on helm, Portuguese

Name: Daisy Gray

Station ⚓️: Ships Cinematographer & Officer of chat

Bio 💬: There is no such thing as an awkward silence with Daisy Gray. Upon first arrival, the skipper was updated with all the “gossip and drama” that he had missed since the trip began within 10 minutes. A keen and elaborate story teller, it wouldn’t take long spending time with Daisy to hear the following phrases:

- “No seriously - my Granny is a horse whisperer”

- “My dad actually swam the channel”

- “When I was in Zimbabwe…”

- “In Africa…”

Daisy was confident she would see dolphins on the trip as she had ‘manifested it’ however Jorge and I were not quite so quick to believe that it would work. She went the whole trip with out them - up until the last 20 minutes of the last sail as we headed into Cadiz. She then continued to cry for the next half hour rendering her effectively useless as crew.

An adventurer in her own right, Daisy is now off to Africa (if you didn’t already know) for some non profit work. We want that finished ASAP so you can come meet us in the Caribbean.

Skills🔧: Yapping, Manifesting, Yapping, getting out of sand pits, Yapping, Washing up, Yapping, Storytelling, Emotional Quotes, Duck Arrangements

🟩Likes🟩: Dolphins, Making dolphin sounds, Marlboro reds, Liquid dnb, guys who aren’t into her

🟥Dislikes🟥: Boys, Winches, Jorge’s Compliments, Deep water, Jackie Weavers Authority

Name: Madelyn J. Starling

Station ⚓️: First Mate

Bio 💬: Madelyn Starling is by no means a natural born sailor. She gets seasick, she doesn’t like deep water, and to be honest, she thinks it’s a bit too much effort. Therefore she’s not really too sure how she ended up on a 28ft Twister in the battlegrounds of Trafalgar, in the middle Gibraltar straight, or sleeping in a anchorage with a swell choppy enough to knack off even the skipper. Nonetheless she came, she saw, she conquered. (All be it with a few tears).

On plenty of occasions, Mads has said she enjoys the boat life. She likes the cosy bunks, the hot weather & the tasty food of travelling. However, when conditions become a little more than champagne sailing Mads implements the proper naval chain of command - as Girlfriend. All who have sailed with their S.O will understand that in many circumstances this by far outranks skipper.

Mads will give very specific and detailed instructions to the skipper:

“sort everything out - I’m going to be sick”

One of the finer moments with Mads went something like this:

Whilst going through the Gibraltar straight into the med, “is this the entrance to a new sea?” Yes I said, “so why don’t they have like a welcome sign?”

Skills🔧 : More blonde moments than a brunette should have, Crying at any inconvenience, “are you sure🤨?”, taking the piss out of the skipper, Reminding the skipper of what he’s actually meant to be working on.

🟩Likes🟩: Happy Hippos, feta, Marinas, Life jackets, writing lists, Convos, Sangria, Cloudless Skies

🟥Dislikes🟥: Wet wipes, Lobster Pots, Swell, sleeping on achor, the skippers inability to focus on a single task, using her Geography A Level.

Name: Selma M. Halsall

Station ⚓️: Lead Coordinator

Bio 💬: Many captains would worry about their mothers on their ship. They can be dangerous and hazardous environments - however when the mother has more miles under her belt than yourself and has sailed for many more years than the captain has been alive, this worry soon disappears and becomes a quiet comfort and nice break from teaching people how to sail.

That being said however - it quickly comes to realisation that there are a thousand things that the captain hasn’t considered and should be a lot more concerned about. The ‘just an idea’s’ and the ‘have you thought of’s’ make a regular appearance. It is a literal miracle that the captain has survived without this concern so far.

As was said during the journey, mothers will be mothers. It was a pleasure having a bit of home onboard. And we will see Selma again in Barbados, this time though, more for holidaying, less sailing.

An essential part of the team.

Skills🔧: Worrying, home cooking, load bearing, organisation, speed walking, baby holding, pointing out the bleedin obvious, Steering the boat the wrong way and accommodating guests on the good ship.

🟩Likes🟩: Making life easy for the captain, making Ben and Jack book expensive restaurants and safety equipment.

🟥Dislikes🟥: The captains laid back attitude, huge f*ck off fireworks at 1am, Jack doing the washing up, anything not sorted by the time she leaves and being away from the dog

Name: Sean M. O’Mahony  

Station ⚓️: Heavy Lifter

Legs: Porto🇵🇹 —> Nazaré🇵🇹

Bio💬: Seans last trip on Brim was some time ago, so he got himself back in the sailing mindset this week. He’s due to be completing the westbound Atlantic crossing onboard the good ship in November, flying out the day after racing fours head (if he doesn’t miss his flight again). Sean is great to have onboard due to the fact he will get you thinking. Sometimes you wish you knew what is going on in someone’s head, however with Sean you don’t need to wish. He thinks aloud so you know he’s wondering “do you think you ever see the same dolphin twice”, “do you think we could sell water that we bottle from the middle of the Atlantic?” Or my favourite, as he is looking in the binoculars at a crowded beach “you recon anyone is looking through binoculars at me right now?”. As a keen member at London RC Sean has his station of ‘Heavy Lifter’ well earned. When around will certainly be the one to weight anchor.

Skills🔧: Covert Chunning, Asking thought provoking questions, Dodging lobster pots, Strange comments out of nowhere, Missing flights, Destroying Burgers in record time, Falling asleep in his dinner & Crashing Stag Dos, and idk probs rowing

🟩Likes🟩: Wondering what this is and what that does. Sleeping at any opportunity, Lipton Ice Tea, The Northern Boys and “Proper Coke”

🟥Dislikes🟥: Fog, Strong ebb tides, Diet Coke, Layovers, Eating anything except Lobster and Crab.

Name: Ben S. Sims 

Station⚓️: Best skier on the mountain

Legs: Baiona 🇪🇸 —> Porto 🇵🇹

Bio💬: From the Slopes of the Alps to the Iberian Atlantic coast, Sims has quickly adjusted to life afloat. With a strong gift of the gab this man has made his mark on the trip, befriending the crew of Delfino for Brimble and promising his newly found sailing skill as crew whenever needed. A skill he was eager to learn. Soaking up everything he could for his future in the world of boatbuilding. Before long this man will surely become Brimbles new bosun. We hope to see you soon sir.

Skills🔧: Booking very expensive restaurants, acquiring strange tan lines, winning hats, talking about wine and actually knowing what he’s talking about, naked ski crashes, & the gab

🟩Likes🟩: Raising the Portuguese flag, Patagonia Hats, Aquariums, Being a statue, Pastel de Natal, Salted Cod, Lord of the Rings and 40k Audiobooks, speaking French in Portugal, & Beer

🟥Dislikes🟥: Coffee, Small children, Forgetting his passport & feeling seasick

Name: Ella F. Halsall
Station⚓️: Helms Woman
Legs: A Coruña 🇪🇸 —> Baiona🇪🇸 [Any many others previously]
Bio💬: Having completed an Atlantic crossing in 2008 with her brother and sailing on Brimble for many years, Ella is no stranger to the good ship. She has long established her sea legs and proves to be skilled in her post as helms woman. As sister of the skipper she also has the role of reporting back to home base (Mum) if any stupidity or lack of H&S is involved in the current command. A pleasure to have onboard, I’m glad to say that she is due to be returning to the good ship sometime in December to sail on the other side of the Atlantic. In the meantime, she goes to start a new job as a liar (lawyer). See you soon!
Skills🔧: Helming, keeping the good ship in tip top condition, finding dolphins, pissing off her brother & beating him at any card game
🟩Likes🟩: Sleep, books, dolphins, lord of the rings audiobooks, being back on the good ship
🟥Dislikes🟥: Her younger brother being in charge, Work calls on holiday, that cushion on her bunk.



Tom Parsons: Ships Doctor and expedition medical advisor. New to Team Brimble. Always ready to sew up an injury even when there's no injury to sew up. Has been quite a way but will definitely go far

Cerys Organ: Ships Artist. New to Team Brimble but already demonstrated an uncanny ability to catch the moment.
Has not gone anywhere but will this year.

Jo Parsons: Ships Psychiatrist. Vital new addition to the team. Surgery will open in the Spring. Currently on full time release to learn the idiosyncrasies of the Duck mind. Has been quite away and smiled all the time.

Mara Gardner: Ships Ambassador. A multi-linguist focussed on English and American dialects. Mara, has lived in more than one country and speaks her mind so is ideal for this outward facing and highly sensitve role. Been far.



John Halsall: inspirational leader of the team and expert in navigation. Recently returned from training programme to learn how to differentiate starboard from port; has been far although you wouldn't think so.





Rob Parsons: second in command, expert with all things electronic, has gone far enough.

Recently returned from a gymnastics seminar.







Selma Halsall: photographer, logistics expert and 'voice of reason', has often gone too far.

Chris 'The Perk' Perkins: Our strong man, expert in endurance; ex-military, so can kill if
necessary. Has been quite far but wants to go further.

Phil Trotter; an expert with money, has been far but wants to go further.






Gordon McBride; team advisor; has been further than all of us put together and then some. Trained as sub-mariner and our underwater expert.

Jack Halsall; ships mechanic, some knowledge of engines based on 300 episodes of Top Gear, has been further than many. Recently woke up but then went straight back to sleep again.

Ella Halsall; has been further than many, will go far, but only if it's south.

Colm Briggs: Expert in Tea drinking. Is willing to go very far providing there's a nice cuppa tea on arrival.

Jerry White: South Coast Crew member. Could go far but currently lost.

Jack Green: Biscay Crew member, sailed across The Biscay and then emigrated to Canada

Paul Elliot, Master Mariner has been exceptionally far. Can also kill if necessary.

Alasdair Flint. Gone farther than most and still going. Capn of the good ship Sumara of Weymouth (Brimbles best friend) and master mariner. One of the few members of the team that does know about sailing. Also owner of the best Chandlery in London, Arthur Beales.

Grit Eckert. Never goes too far but if she does it's well considered and thought through. Calm in a storm .. the only person I have ever met who stays positive whatever's going wrong! Expert in languages

Simon '4 peaks' Blanchflower. Navigation expert and technical advisor. Strength of ten tigers and the resilience of a Duracel Bunny

Anna O'Mahony. Not been very far yet but does have the t-shirt.



The Ducks (also see separate dedicated section)

Eider Duck; the team comm's man. Will go far when he learns to speak.

Cockney Mallard; ships negotiator, diplomat and front man, doesn't care how far he's gone and never will and in any case it's none of your business, alright?

Chirpy Chick (CC); expert in entertainment; never been far but keen to go all the way at the first possible opportunity.