Who is Stokey Woodall?

Hi, Lin here, wishing you all a Happy New Year wherever you may roam!

Well, we have all heard of Stokey's Solar System Walk and many of us have been walking it over the holiday period, but who, you may ask, is Stokey and how did he come to set up the walk in Ventnor?

“Stokey” is Peter Woodall, who originally hails from Stoke and is still a keen supporter of that football club. But he is better known as an ocean sailor who has crossed the Atlantic some 30 times in 33 years and amassed more than a quarter of a million sea miles. He is a highly respected and much sought after teacher in celestial navigation and has sailed to the Azores some 89 times to teach students completing their Ocean Yachtmaster certification. This week will see him delivering a presentation to expert sailors at the London Boat Show.

After working in mechanical engineering at British Steel, Stokey joined the British Army, skippering yachts for all ranks up to full generals. He travelled the world for 5 years delivering vessels and for 25 years has headed International Ocean Services (Britain’s first ocean sailing school and and weather centre).

He has taught many clients their navigation skills, including Ellen Macarthur, Emma Richards (around the world alone female sailors), the late Barbra Harmer (only female Concorde Captain), John Howard Davies (head of comedy for the BBC), Philippe Khann (inventor of the camera phone), Sir Alex Crampton Smith (world leading anaesthetist), Dr Wittingham (pioneer of ultra sound), and Leven Brown and Matt Craigwell (Trans-Atlantic rowing record holders).

Between 2006 and 2011 Stokey set up the Atlantic Circuit Programme, comprising two trans-Atlantic sailing events: the Trans-Atlantic Adventure starting in Porto and finishing in Barbados and the Trans-Atlantic Challenge from Antigua /Azores to England. Over 450 novices and experienced sailors had the chance to cross an ocean, of all ages, nationalities and social backgrounds.

After over 30 years sailing the seven seas, and having seen pretty much all the world has to offer, Stokey chose to put down his roots in Ventnor in the Isle of Wight which is a pretty big endorsement for the town! From here he plans routes for trans-Atlantic sailors and teaches courses in navigation and ocean sailing and shares his love of the heavens with locals through his popular 'Wonders of the Universe' courses.

Launching the Solar System Walk

Once we had secured funding and had set up the walk, all that remained was to get the word out that it was there and encourage some folk to try it out. The walk is laid out on the 1,000 yard scale, where 1 inch represents 100,000 miles. At the Bonchurch end is a scale model of the Sun and the distance to Pluto can be walked in 1,019 paces, the equivalent of 3,666,000,000 miles! Each planet passed along the way is marked by a plaque with some key facts on.

On Saturday28th November, Dave and Dianne from the Crab and Lobster Tap kindly accommodated us for coffee and lunch when a group of invited guests attended Stokey's presentation in the Masonic Hall opposite. He used his expert knowledge to deliver an engaging interactive presentation to illustrate the size and timescale of the solar system, and introduced the concept of the Solar System Walk.

Sadly the weather was so inclement that we were unable to complete the whole walk, but, armed with newly acquired knowledge, most of the guests have since been able to enjoy the walk in kinder weather.

Among the guests were teachers from St Catherine's School, The Island Free School and the Allnatt Centre at East Dene, who were keen share Stokey's knowledge with their students and use the walk as a resource. Liz and Stephen Izatt came along from Ventnor Arts Club, as did Helen and Frazer Cunningham from Vintage Vacations. Bernard Cawley represented Ventnor Enhancement Fund and we were pleased that Wightlink  journalist Karen Woods came all the way from Fareham to see what the walk is all about.

We were very pleased with the enthusiastic response to the event and have since enjoyed to seeing locals and visitors enjoying the walk and taking in a bit of knowledge with the sea air!

Welcome to Stokey's Solar System Walk!

Welcome to Stokey's Solar System Walk Blog!

First of all, I am Lin, not Stokey! This walk is Stokey's brainchild, but he is too busy sailing and teaching to spend his time blogging about it! So I will be keeping everyone up to date with how Ventnor's latest attraction came to be and how it shapes up in the future. Stokey's sailing and training services can be found here https: International Ocean Services. In October 2014, an evening in Perks Wine Bar somehow ended in an invitation to attend one of Stokey's 'Wonders of the Universe' courses the following day. Like many people, I had always looked up at the stars and planets and asked myself questions like 'how many stars are there?', 'how far away is the Sun?' and 'what is beyond the Milky Way', so I thought, why not?

Stokey's presentation was accompanied by fabulous visuals, models and practical demonstrations that answered these questions and more and included the original walk. The talk was fascinating, as Stokey shared his enthusiasm for the mysteries of the solar system and a lifetime of knowledge, presented so that we laymen could grasp the concepts. Stokey led the group down to Horseshoe Bay at Bonchurch, held up a large orange balloon and pronounced it to be the Sun. He then walked us along to Wheelers Bay, pacing out the distance between the planets to scale. At each stop, we learned some interesting facts and figures about the planet. Thankfully it was a clear night and we finished the course with a stargazing experience as Stokey pointed out the features of the night sky. As we walked along it occurred to me that it would be great to see this walk marked out so locals and visitors could discover the Solar System as they enjoyed a stroll, and so the Solar System Walk was born!