A young sailor on a mammoth journey by electric boat has been hailed as an 'inspiration'.
Harry Besley, 18, embarked on his round-Britain adventure from Lyme Regis on a rigid inflatable boat with an electric motor - known as an eRIB.
He's on a mission to promote a cleaner, greener future for boating in the Round Britain eRIB Challenge, and will be visiting around 40 ports over the next month to spread the word.
Although Harry is from Taunton he has a long standing connection with Lyme Regis as his family often visit the area often and have a chalet in the town.
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Harry's connection to the town and the fact he's starting and ending his adventure in Lyme has left the town’s mayor feeling ‘extremely proud’.
The town council has also supported the trip with £5,000 sponsorship which means its logo will appear on the boat and clothing, as well as being tagged in social media posts throughout the journey.
Lyme mayor Cllr David Ruffle said: “Lyme Regis Town Council is proud to support the Round Britain eRib project.
“We are equally proud to be gold sponsors and the whole town is, I am sure, extremely proud of Harry Besley and his undaunted enthusiasm.
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“Nothing seems to daunt him, nothing seems to faze him.
“He is a credit to Lyme Regis and an inspiration to many.
“The fact this journey begins and ends in Lyme Regis makes it even more special for us."
He added: “Lyme is no stranger to prestigious events, but this one is quite remarkable, and we wholeheartedly support Harry and his team.”
More than 40 locations around Britain will be visited by Harry as he ventures across the open sea to promote a cleaner way for people to go boating.
After leaving Lyme, he headed towards Dartmouth before visiting Plymouth, Falmouth and Penzance earlier this week.
Last night he arrived in Padstow and will be setting off later today for Bideford.
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Cllr Ruffle met with Harry prior to his departure along with deputy mayor Philip Evans and was impressed with the young man’s commitment.
He added: “I spoke with Harry about the planning that went into the project and the training he had to undertake to make it become a reality.
“For a 17-year-old, as he was at the beginning of this project, it's nothing less than wonderful how much of himself he has thrown into this.”
Harry will return to Lyme Regis at the end of his journey at some point in August after his penultimate stop on Portland.
To view his progress a live tracker is available at https://www.roundbritain-erib.org/livetracker
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