It seems surreal, but I have just crossed the equator from the North Atlantic to the South Atlantic. I seem to be in one of those deserted parts of the ocean, so far from the shipping lanes that the last time the AIS spotted anyone else was a tanker four days ago at a range of 10.8miles.

And yet I am up to speed with the Budget, the Ukraine deals (both of them) and all the guff on Facebook – and it is after reading a friend’s reaction to the budget that I have been sitting out in the cockpit in the sun with the Kindle unopened on my knee, watching the water go past in a welter of foam and thinking about what one particular friend has posted.

She has taken issue with Rachael Reeves’ assertion that we need more people who ‘take risks’ and ‘back an idea with their savings’ to become ‘wealth creators’.

My friend says the idea that anyone can become an entrepreneur is a fairytale: You need access to money, the right connections – you need to know how to ‘play the system’ – and the lack of morals to do it.

I’m not so sure that’s true.

In 2005, I had no job and, at the age of 50, it was quite clear I was not going to get another one. Somebody offered me an opportunity that at first glance seemed to be one of those ‘dodgy schemes’. But the total investment was £199 and, since I had nothing else, I thought it worth the risk.

The deal was that I would have to do something I wouldn’t necessarily want to do (but then, as they say, if you work at something you enjoy, it’s not really work.)

I didn’t enjoy this – but I did work at it and eventually grew comfortable with it. At any rate, it was worth putting up with it for the money.

I have just looked up the total they have paid me over the ensuing 20 years. It averages out at £27,964 a year.

I will admit that there are many people who earn more than that – but, by the same token, there are many who earn less and would give anything for that kind of security. Because this was not a wage that would stop being paid if I stopped working. This was what they called a ‘residual income’. Indeed, I stopped working at it full-time in 2016, and now I hardly touch it – although I still get paid every month.

I admit I was lucky. I had no alternative: I had to give it my all from the word go (most people start part-time). I had to risk £199, which I could ill afford (now it’s only a tenner). In a lifetime of sometimes questionable decisions, it remains one thing I got absolutely right, and I am intensely proud of it.

I didn’t need ‘access to money’ or the ‘right connections’ or any of that. Just hard work.

That’s fair, isn’t it?

After a frustrating day in the Doldrums, it was amusing to take a close look at the Polarsteps track. You can do this by clicking on “2025” at https://www.polarsteps.com/JohnPassmore/15574045-2025 and then enlarging the map and going back up the track until you find yesterday’s tangle.

Because that’s what it looks like – 28 miles of actual progress in 20 hours, sailing in every direction on the compass, and some that aren’t. The finished track resembles not so much a grown-up voyage as the Marauder’s Map of Dumbledore’s study the night before the trip to Tom Riddle’s Cave: pacing… pacing…endlessly pacing…

But, I’m pleased to say I woke up this morning to hear the wind charger humming and the ensign flying with a confidence that spoke of: “Come on, guys. Let’s go places!”

So, we’re now heading south at four knots.

If you’re wondering where I’m going all the way down here – well, it would be tempting fate to reveal that too soon, but you will find all the details – and the reason behind it in the new book: The Voyage #3: Panama to the Isle of Man (available at all good Amazon stores in Kindle and Paperback).

Best of all, the first review is in – always an exciting moment. Someone calling himself “Capt Craig” writes: “Passmore was a professional writer, and it shows. His writing is eloquent, entertaining and engaging. His focus on the voyage rather than the destination is fairly unique and makes for a very different travelogue.”

He gave it five stars (why wouldn’t he?)

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c4gpl150ze4o

The BBC reports that it is becoming increasingly difficult to get treatment on the NHS for adult ADHD. Whether you believe this mental condition is a narcissistic affectation or a genuine handicap for 5% of the world’s population, there is no hiding the overwhelming demand for professional help.

I was lucky; I contacted the ADHD Foundation back in 2017 – I doubt they are so free with their consultations now. They told me mine was in the 1% of the most severe cases (finally, I had excelled at something!)

But I did not go to a psychiatrist. There was no way I would take psychotic drugs in the hope of a “cure”.

Instead, I came to terms with the condition. Indeed, I learned to embrace it – which, I would suggest, is a much better solution.

The story is told in my book Faster, Louder, Riskier, Sexier: A wonderful life with ADHD.

I had to rewrite it six times before I learned to appreciate the central character. Now people tell me it’s the best thing I’ve ever done. Certainly, I am intensely proud of it.

If it helps anyone else, then that is a bonus.

https://amzn.eu/d/bbM5CS3