PBO columnist Dave Selby is gearing up for a 300-mile voyage in his 18ft Sailfish.

The East Coast sailor will be setting off from Maldon in June or July on ‘Marlin’s Mission’ to sail to the Southampton Boat Show in September, where Marlin will be on display.

He’ll be stopping off at marinas along the way and sharing tales of his adventures and all the preparations with a blog at pbo.co.uk/dave-selby, along with regular updates in the monthly magazine.

Dave Selby’s Sailfish

Dave, who has the backing of boat show organisers British Marine, is looking forward to inspiring non-boaters to get on the water. He’ll be holding a programme of events based around Marlin at the boat show with the message ‘holidays of a lifetime, for a life-time, for £2,000.’

For existing boaters, Dave and the PBO team will be hosting practical demonstrations of boat maintenance, repair and restoration.

Dave said: ‘It’s simple. There’s a myth that boating is expensive. In fact, there’s an ever growing supply of cheap, small, affordable second-hand boats for less than half the price of one family holiday. They can open up a lifetime of adventure. That’s Marlin’s Mission.’

Dave, who suffers from a rare viral condition called Guillain-Barré Syndrome, will also be raising money for his charity.

He added: “This is not a commercial enterprise, I simply want to share all that sailing has to give with others, and I hope the marine trade will buy into that and support the project.”

Dave is calling for PBO readers to join in with his sailing adventure, to share their wisdom, cheer him along the way and sail in company.

To find out more about opportunities to get involved, email dave@rollingassets.com