I met my old friend Bernie Hollywood in the magnificent venue of the Liverpool Anglican Cathedral to hear more about his dangerous but triumphant 3,500 mile row across the Atlantic
As the second blog that I am doing to show the world that Liverpool is a great place which has great people I am featuring someone who did not go the extra mile as we say about someone who really exerts themselves for others but who went the extra 3540 miles.
That person is Bernie Hollywood, a charity guru and social entrepreneur from Liverpool, entered the Talisker Whisky Atlantic Challenge with the aim of shining a spotlight on the continued rise of child suicide and depression across the UK and around the world. Noted as the world’s toughest endeavour, this solo journey saw Bernie row 3,540 miles across the Atlantic Ocean, culminating with his arrival in Antigua.
The journey involved two capsizes, a broken leg, running out of food, and Bernie jokes himself an extra 540 miles and 15 days because he didn’t turn right at the appropriate time and nearly ended up in Venezuela rather than Antigua! In a talk at the Anglican Cathedral Bernie told us movingly of the loneliness of the trip and the ups and downs not only associated with 20 foot waves but also the emotional ups and downs that can affect you when you are basically alone for all that time in dark and dangerous conditions.
A cause close to his heart, Bernie has extensive personal experience with the mental health struggles of younger people and wanted to see if engaging with children and students through the medium of the creative arts and active adventure was possible. The purpose of the ‘Boat of Hope’ was to open a conversation about feelings around mental health.
During the journey, which lasted over 100 days, Bernie’s trip was fraught with danger, technical issues, illness, injury, and loneliness. Despite this, he remained resolute in his determination, wanting to understand how alone people can feel when they experience depression and low mood.
The boat rowed by Bernie Hollywood across the Atlantic, the ‘City of Liverpool’, was named in honour of his late father and grandfather, who spent their entire working lives at the Port of Liverpool.
Measuring 7 metres x 2 metres, it is available for visitors to view, resting at the heart of The Well at Liverpool Anglican Cathedral.
Bernie is absolutely right to bring to our attention the problems with children’s mental health which have greatly worsened during the lock downs caused by Covid-19. His raising money, more than £120,000 is only part of the achievement. The biggest part was to raise awareness of the issue and bring about real change from policy makers and strategic deliveries globally. Child suicide is on the increase and there are many pressures oin children which are difficult to counter unless we all become more aware of the issues, how to spot them and how to deal with them.
Bernie remarked, “I am truly thrilled that the final stage of our hugely successful two-year Boat of Hope campaign is concluding with this exhibition in the majestic Liverpool Cathedral.
Our mission over the last two years was to successfully open as many conversations as possible with primary children on their mental wellbeing and with young adults on suicide awareness across the world, through creative arts & adventure. After my solo row and the work that has been done with schools in the UK, we are now here in my home city, with the unique opportunity for people to come and see the ‘City of Liverpool’ ocean-going rowboat on display alongside artwork produced by young people as part of the project.”
With the support of ‘Boat of Hope’ ambassador Natalie Reeves Billing, alongside her social enterprise Split Perspectivz CIC, the project has featured a host of activities and resources for children and young people. A children’s picture book, called ‘Bernie and Boatie’, was developed to engage primary school-aged children and is available to purchase from the Liverpool Cathedral shop.
Natalie Reeves Billing and her team also worked to create 5000 child mental health boxes full of books and creative resources for primary school children across the Liverpool City Region during Bernie’s journey. Inside each was a competition, asking children to translate their vision of hope in words and art.
The results of that competition are available for visitors to see in the collages and individual pieces of work displayed around The Well, alongside the ‘Boat of Hope’ exhibition.
Visitors to Liverpool Cathedral can take a closer look at the ‘City of Liverpool’ from 27th May to 4th June. If you live nearby its easy to get to. If you live further away there are easier ways to get to Liverpool than rowing!!
But what does Richard Kemp think? 