After eighteen days and 808 miles Dr Cronin's record breaking attempt to circumnavigate Britain with a small motor strapped to his back has been brought to an end by a broken clutch.
Dr Paul Cronin, who runs The Eternal Youth clinic on London Road, set off on his journey round Britain's coast on Saturday August 14th with a 30kg motorbike engine strapped to his back.
He had set himself a virtually impossible challenge because he only had 21 days to complete the 2000 mile journey which would require roughly 20 days with no rain and reasonable winds.
Having spent three nights in Painters Forstall this week, due to very high winds, he eventually took off again on Tuesday from a field in Essex when the wind had built to a nice consistent level.
Dr Cronin explained "There was a couple of loud bangs just prior to take off which possibly should have alerted me to some problem. I thought some lines had caught in the prop but looked up to find the wing calmly hanging in there up above me.
"By the two hour marker I had reached the outskirts of Colchester and a distance of some 57 miles so time once again to find a suitable landing field.
Having made a gentle landing on a very large flat field of empty grass Paul explained "I noticed that I had damaged the tips of the prop. I was a little confused as the landing had been pretty good. Further inspection revealed one of the frame clips to be missing and more seriously the centrifugal clutch for the propellor had seized. After reviewing the takeoff video I suspect that the clip had not been firmly seated in position and it had caught the prop tips on take off rather than have them damaged at the landing. I suspect that this is when the clutch seized so in fact I was lucky that everything else continued to work fine until after the landing.
"From a personal point of view I am very disappointed. Whilst I have been able to service the motor successfully throughout the trip and fix minor propellor damage etc, unfortunately I am unable to fix the clutch so this is now the end of my journey.
"In eighteen days I have done over 808 miles. Which given the weather that we have had is remarkable in itself. We had 9 of the eighteen days in which flying was just not possible. On several of the days we did fly, we probably shouldn't have.
"I always knew I could be defeated by the weather and perhaps I was too ambitious as to how many days would be needed to complete the journey, however I have flown whenever possible and we have covered a huge distance.
"If I have been defeated now it is by a combination of weather and mechanical problems. It is certainly not from a lack of determination to fly.
With his amazing journey over Dr Cronin took the opportunity to retire to a small hotel, with his wife Jane, and relax with a nice hot bath and a soft bed to sleep in.
He added "I must also take this opportunity to thank all of the people we have met on our travels around the UK for their warmth and generosity. The welcome we have received right around the country has been a true blessing and we will remember you all for some considerable time."
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Marc Asquith
Director & Company Sec
British Hang Gliding and Paragliding Assoc.