SPORTS RELIEF

We are helping Conrad Manning build a paddleboard out of 700+ milk bottles. Conrad’s creation aims to take him around the Isle of Wight - project planning is underway.

TMG: What’s your challenge about? Is it just you?
CM: The challenge of paddling around the IoW is about combining personal challenge to raise money for Sports Relief with promoting how with a bit of engineering you can turn rubbish into something exciting with help from others. I'm also proud that everything has been sourced within 13miles from my home (and mostly within walking distance of a train station). It'll just be me paddling but there are lots of people alongside me who are helping make this a reality, from driving the build to planning and execution support and all those who have donated the bottles.

TMG: How have you prepared?
CM: How much detail do you want me to go into? Preparation has consisted of finding support for areas I'm not an expert in. Whether that is board shaping, construction methods, fitness, nutrition (fuelling), organising a challenge like this, and of course publicising the project.

The paddleboard is designed along the lines of touring and open water long distance boards they use between islands in Hawaii. She'll have a wooden skeleton and skinned with plastic panels that have been created from plastic milk bottles that were destined for the bin. All in all there will be over 700 bottles that will be granulated then re-formed, the challenge is how to join them and we're keeping that a secret.

TMG: What do you want to achieve with the challenge?
CM: There are a few goals from this challenge:-

To get around the Isle of Wight successfully (ie without the board or me breaking)

To document the building process to show how to go from waste to exciting product and therefore create a paddleboard that can then be taken to schools and events to highlight STEM/STEAM to the next generation
- To raise money for Sports Relief to support the work they do
- Keep the conversation going around sustainability and turning the tide on plastic