At the age of 27, with deteriorating sight, Dean Dunbar was advised to get a guide dog. A few years on, he decided to paddle, blind, from the Isles of Scilly to Cornwall.

I had first heard about the so-called Celtic Crossing, from the Isles of Scilly to Sennen Cove on the westernmost tip of Cornwall, from a friend. I knew immediately it was a challenge I had to complete.

Being a big 50km crossing, the weather and sea conditions had to be perfect. So we opted for a window of opportunity in June. It was warm, the tides were favourable and the wind negligible.

Having arrived on St. Mary’s, we readied ourselves with a late afternoon stroll through Hugh Town, excellent fish and chips, and a reflective moment sitting on the beach enjoying the evening sunshine.

The paddle the following day was going to be hard, not only because it was a good distance, but also because we didn’t want to leave this idyllic place. One night on the Isles of Scilly was not enough!

The next day, at first light, we left St. Mary’s and paddled out through the glassy waters of the archipelago, towards the Eastern Isles. Even if I couldn’t see the beauty of the water, I could feel it with every movement – and I could sense that I was heading east by the sun on my face.

As we reached the last island before the open sea, the boys spotted a seal colony, and paddled off to investigate. I knew I wouldn’t be able to see much, so the team told me to continue paddling towards the sun.

A few minutes later, I heard a double whistle. This surely meant trouble. We had pre-arranged emergency signals – a double whistle blast meant “come back” and a single blast meant “wait”. Another double blast sounded again, and then another, so I got a fix on the direction – 20 metres above my head! I was much relieved to fathom that, rather than my paddling mate Carl, this was the call of a seabird! That was the first of the wildlife, and throughout the paddle, the guys spotted puffins, dolphins and many more seals.

The team’s goal was to get the blind man from the Isles of Scilly to Cornwall on his paddleboard, standing, kneeling or even lying. And this, we achieved in style – standing all the way in a total of 8 hours and 11 minutes!