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When Southampton Science Park-based iMeta
received a letter entitled "Extreme Staff Development", they were intrigued.
Little did they think it would lead to one of their employees, Neil Jenman
(pictured above) speeding through the Solent, 100ft up a mast.
Neil was nominated by iMeta for a place in
The Challenge Transat 2006 yacht race, which is sponsored by Southampton
City Council and Challenge Business. The Challenge is billed as "a chance
for a member of staff to develop their teambuilding and interpersonal
skills, to help them to think laterally, consider the impact of their
actions and to take responsibility for others."
Following an interview, Neil was selected as
first reserve and iMeta gave him an extra week's paid leave to undertake
sailing training.
Neil said, "The training was fairly extreme
and as I had no previous sailing experience there was a steep learning
curve. One of the most memorable parts was coming past The Needles. We had
40 knots of wind behind us and the seas were pretty rough. The deck seemed
nearly vertical and I was sitting at the bow getting soaked as we (and I)
crashed through the waves. On the way back to Ocean Village the skipper let
me climb to the top of the 100ft mast."
"The view from the top was amazing and the
72ft Yacht below me seemed a lot smaller. By the time I had got to the top
we had run out of water so the skipper had to tack. This launched the mast
to a totally different angle while I was still at the top, it was so much
fun!"
www.imeta.co.uk |
