Transatlantic solo sailor Neal Petersen from South Africa talks about his unexpected sojourn in Galway.
Growing up in apartheid-era South Africa Neal Petersen has overcome physical and financial barriers to realise his dream of becoming a solo transatlantic sailor,
I learned how to economise on a dream, to achieve the whole thing.
Early last year Petersen departed Cape Town in his 38-foot yacht bound for Plymouth. A collision with a container crate that had fallen off a cargo ship in the North Atlantic left him using a makeshift rudder for twenty one days until the Irish Navy came to his rescue.
Supported by the community in Galway he based himself there and repaired his yacht before departing for Plymouth. From there he competed in the Ostar solo transatlantic race, setting sail for Newport, Rhode Island.
Returning to Galway Neal is preparing for his next endeavour, a solo round the world yacht race.
He has also used this time to share his story with children local schools,
To encourage young people to have goals of their own and dreams of their own.
This episode of 'Jo-Maxi' was broadcast on 26 October 1992. The presenter is Celine Whelan.
'Jo-Maxi' was a youth lifestyle programme targeted at ten to fourteen year olds on Network 2, a rebranded version of RTÉ 2 introduced in Autumn 1988. The programme contained features on a broad range of topics including animals, fashion, music, books and profiles of young people voicing their views on various subjects. The original presenters on the show were Ray D'Arcy, Geri Lalor, Clíona Ní Bhuachalla and Antoinette Dawson. It was first broadcast on 10 October 1988. In 1993 it was rebranded as 'JMTV' and continued until 1994.
