Woman heads on mammoth challenge to clean up local area

Linn van der Zanden will attempt to paddleboard between Great Cumbrae, Little Cumbrae Arran, Bute and the Holy Isle or Ailsa Craig in the space of five days.

She will take on a solo beach cleaning mission on each of the five beauty spots, sleeping on each overnight, in aid of Surfers Against Sewage (SAS).

Linn explained: “It is going to be quite a challenge, but I'm looking forward to it.

“I’ll be beach cleaning during the day and sleeping under the stars by night, taking everything I need with me on my board.

“I’m the local representative of SAS in North Ayrshire and I organise beach cleans and ocean campaigns, but this will be going even further than that.

“It will be the longest and most challenging paddle I’ve ever done, so I’m both nervous and excited.”

Linn says the paddleboarding will be a challenge and she expects to spend as much as six hours on the crossing to Arran alone.

She said: “I want to do one island per day and I’m hoping to do all five in a row, but it really depends on the winds.

“I may have to do a few islands and then wait for a good weather window to do the crossing over to Arran.

“I’m expecting to cover over 100km on the paddleboard, which will be about 15 hours in total, including five or six on the Arran crossing alone.”

Linn, from Skelmorlie, is already halfway to her £1,000 target, and hopes that documenting her challenge online will help to boost donations.

She said: “The fundraiser has had an amazing start and the support I’ve had has been absolutely brilliant.

“Friends and family have been donating but also people who are just interested in looking after the ocean for the next generation.

“I will be posting some photos and videos as I go along, which will hopefully give people an insight into what I’m doing and why I'm doing it."

You can follow Linn’s challenge on Instagram at @microadventuregirl and donate at www.justgiving.com/fundraising/fiveislandschallenge