Sirona Says

6 weeks to go and the thought of emulating James Bond is now getting damn scary

In six weeks time - 21st July, to be precise, I am doing something that my body might regret later!  A year ago when I started planning this, my talk was bold and the nerves were holding strong, but now the concept of jumping of this......

Please help me do this mad jump for a great charity >>>click here to sponsor me<<<

....attached to a bungee rope, is starting to give me a few things to think about!  (Any underwear sponsors would be welcome....)

And just to make matters worse, my daughter Bethany is doing it as well!!

As bad as the jump is, I am going to make it more interesting because I will be wearing my Worthing Crocman outfit (obviously minus the head!), that 'flew off the Worthing Pier' last year!! >>>>>>>>> This time my flight time will be a 7.5 seconds freefall, 750 feet down the dam face, not about 1 second into the sea!!

This is better known as The Goldeneye Bungee Jump, and it is situated at the Verzasca Dam in Switzerland. If you want to see what is is store for me then this video here should give you a good idea, why not to do what I am going to do!! (It is not trick photography - this is THE SAME jump I will be doing..)

Please don't think I am doing this for fun - I am pushing myself to my limit 9and beyond!), just to raise money for a charity that is VERY close to my heart - Leukaemia and Lymphoma Research. The reason is simple, my younger brother David (see my post Why I miss my brother) died from leukaemia in Christmas 2007, and I want to raise money for the charity so future sufferers of this horrible blood cancer have a chance of survival.

I need your help to help me jump. I want to raise so much money that it literally forces me off the edge of the Verzasca Dam in 6 weeks time!!

There are  thousands of you that read my blog every week, and all I am asking is if each of you could make a small donation (obviously larger if you want to) via my just giving page , with your accompanying good luck message, then my 750 ft leap off the dam, will mean so much more, knowing my blog community has helped me do it.
Alternatively (UK only) you can pick your phone up now and text CROCMAN to 84459 to make a small donation. Texts will be charged at £3 (usual text charges apply).

My brother died because not enough was known about the form of leukaemia he had. It was horrible watching him pass away over nine months, and I want to do everything I can to help others to not have to go through what he (and his family) went through.

So please help me achieve my goal, of helping other blood cancer sufferers have a longer life.

Thank you in advance for all your help and support! And obviously thanks to all those that have sponsored me so far.

For those of you that want to follow my story over the next six weeks, including photos and videos, culiminating with the jump (and post jump hysteria/nausea (not sure which yet) then make sure you:

Follow Worthing Crocman on Twitter; become a fan of the Worthing Crocman Facebook page and stick the Worthing Crocman blog in your RSS reader by clicking on this link ( A big thanks to Sara who manages all the social media side of Worthing Crocman.)

Remember the link - Worthing Crocman Just Giving Page

Worthing Crocman (me) 'flying' video from Worthing Birdman 2009

Hopefully you enjoyed the great photographs in my last post of me 'flying' as Worthing Crocman in the Worthing Birdman competition. Well here is the video filmed by my daughter - and yes it is her 'commentary'!

Don't forget this has been for a very good cause, and so far we have raised over £1000 for Leukaemia Research, in memory of my brother David who sadly passed away from the disease 18 months ago. You can still donate money at www.justgiving.com/andyheadworth-worthingbirdman

A big thanks again to everyone that has supported us so far!

Worthing Crocman (me) photo montage at the International Worthing Birdman Competition 2009

What a fantastic weekend in Worthing!! The Worthing Birdman was brilliant and as promised here is a photo montage taken by Sara Headworth (video to follow seperately).

Pondering the return to his natural habitat....the sea!!

The TV's Gadget Show's Jason Bradbury with The Crocman!

The TV's Gadget Show's Ortis Deeley with The Crocman!

I am off up the ramp to the 35ft platform.....

  Bring it on!! At the top and ready to rock!!

As you can see, I managed to get a good launch....not!

Off with his head!! And yes it is as far as it looks!

Ouch!! The facial impact was not a good idea.....

A little dazed but Crocman is back in his normal habitat - the water!

Safe on board the safety boat (note the tail in water for balance!) I was then transferred to a jet ski, for 'landing' on the shore. Now that was cool - a croc on a jet ski!!

My Crocman outfit picked up 2nd place - and £250 -  in the 'best outfit' category for the 2009 Birdman competition (I lost first place to a fantastic Red Barron style craft). I must say that my wife Sara needs the credit for the outfit, as she hand stitched 1500 individual scales on the Crocman!!
This was a nice end to a fantastic day.

And the best bit of all, is that we have exceeded the £1000 target we set for raising money for Leukaemia Research, to help other sufferers from this awful disease. So thank you to everyone that sponsored me, it made the day all the worthwhile.

And just in case you are wondering..........

  The croc head did survive after swimming around the English Channel for an hour or so!! Here he is ready to fly/swim another day (a little dental work is need first though!)

Mother Nature tooks its toll on the Worthing Birdman!

After all the build up and excitement around the 2008 Worthing Birdman, in the end it was mother nature that had the last laugh!! Saturday was excellent, and I watched the real flyers take off in near perfect conditions for them, and it resulted in a record of 85m being set.
But the early hours of Sunday morning saw the anticipated weather front really take control. With such a high tide and the storm front, it was actually the Beach master that canceled the day on the Sunday by actually closing the Pier because the waves were washing over the end!!

To say I was gutted was a complete understatement. You know what the event meant to me with regards to my brother, so it was a real shame that I couldn't jump. (In all honestly, the conditions were truly atrocious, with mountainous waves, force 7/8 winds and fierce rain - they couldn't even launch the rescue boats!!)

With film crews and the photographic press there, it was decided to try and still get photos and interviews and we assembled (in costume) in The Dome nearby. Then one of the TV guys had a great idea(!!) - why not pictures of all the competitors running into the sea (now with big waves of course) in costume! Suffice to say we did it. So what follows are a number of pics of Crocman in the rough seas, with some of the other Birdmen competitors.

Some

You can watch the official video of the 2008 Birdman, and yes, you might recognised a certain croc in there somewhere

In total we raised £1600+ for Leukaemia Research which was absolutely fantastic, although we all ended up in the sea, we didn't obviously jump. A massive thank you for all your support, it has been brilliant, and I know that somewhere, some leukaemia sufferers will benefit from this money raised.
If there are any people that did sponsor me based on me completing the jump, that would like to get a refund of their donation, then please do contact me, and we can arrange it accordingly.

I have been asked whether I will do it next year, and the answer is easy.......ABSOLUTELY!!!!

The Crocman of Worthing Birdman has captured the media's attention

On Sunday The Crocman of Worthing, as I have now been so eloquently tagged, takes to the skies in the Birdman of Worthing  - well for a brief moment anyway? I am reckoning 3ft horizontal, 36ft down into the sea!! (Follow me & my croc tweets on the day on Twitter )

My Crocodile jump in honour of my brother and Leukaemia Research has attracted some great media attention. Unfortunately the planned slot on GMTV today was pulled by the producers due to 'creative differences' (they wanted to poke fun at it rather than take it seriously!!).
But 10 minutes after hearing that news yesterday, I got a call from SouthernFM (part of the Capital Radio Group). So I am off to their studios today and then off to BBC radio after that. We then saw that the BBC News website had picked up the story as well. This in addition to local radio and local newspapers.

This attention is fantastic and I would welcome more (TV, newspapers & magazines feel free to contact me) , because my primary aim is to raise both money and awareness for Leukaemia Research. David's passing away last year from the disease, leaving his young widow and their soon-to-be one son, is unfortunately not uncommon, as it can strike anyone. There are currently 110,000 children and adults alike that are living with these cancers, and as I know from my brother, many are incurable - only because they still don't know enough about some of the rarer strains, hence the need for more help.

So if you haven't already then please do visit my Just Giving site and make a small donation. As I have said previously, David won't get a chance to see his son grow up, but I want to help other leukaemia sufferers achieve remission so they get the chance.

Worthing Birdman Competition - Why a Crocodile?

There is now less than two weeks to go before I stand on Worthing Pier and launch myself off the 35ft high ramp into the sea, for the Worthing Birdman Competition. Well part of my outfit is now nearly finished, and as it has created much interest I thought I would show you part of it. This is a picture of me (take my word for it, it is!) and the crocodile head that we have made for the Worthing Birdman (the rest of the outfit will be revealed nearer the day itself).

Some of you will have already seen that I am doing this event in aid of Leukaemia Research, in memory of my brother who died last year from leukaemia. Thank you to everyone that has sponsored me so far, but I don't want to stop there, I really do want raise as much as I can to help other leukaemia sufferers, so please visit my online page to make a donation today. 

I have been asked by many people why a giant crocodile? Well the picture here will help to answer that question.
On Christmas 2005 David and Marlynne (his wife to be) were exploring Australia. We sent them out a Christmas package to open on the beach on Christmas Day, which apart from an array of crackers, silly hats etc included an inflatable 6ft crocodile (shown here with David).
With my brothers sense of humour, he readily  adopted 'Snappy' as their 'guest' for the day, and proceeded to have some fun. They even sat him down for their christmas day meal - for some reason he didn't eat much though!!
It obviously created lots of strange looks and much fun for the day for David and Marlynne, and it has become a part of our family's 'folklore'.

So you see my choice of a crocodile was an easy decision really, and now you know why it means so much to me and my family!

Now, please do go to my Just Giving page and sponsor me for The Worthing Birdman on the 6th July. Every donation, every £,$ or euro will help other leukaemia sufferers, and if we can help more of them into remission to enjoy more time with their families then we will have achieved something good.

Worthing Birdman Competition 2008 - I need your help (please!)

This year, yours truly, will be taking part in the Worthing Birdman competition, in Worthing, West Sussex (UK) on the 5th & 6th July. Previously the event has been known as the Bognor Birdman, but due to the storms in January damaging the Bognor Pier it has had to be switched to Worthing. It is a very popular with large crowds drawn to the weekend for the sheer madness and fun of it all!! (see video below for a taster)

So why am I willing to fly / jump / drop like a rock (delete accordingly) off a 35ft high pier into the sea? Very simple really. I want to raise a lot of money for Leukemia Research, to help find cures for some of the rare forms of Leukemia.

In December last year, my brother David (pictured here) died prematurely of a rare leukemia aged just 40. In the course of 8 months, David had his 40th Birthday, was diagnosed with a rare and acute form of the disease, got married, was there for the birth of his first child and then passed away two weeks before Christmas.
He didn't get a chance to see his son grow up. I want to raise the money to help make sure that other leukemia sufferers, get a chance of long term remission from some of the rarer forms of this nasty disease.

So how can you help me? - Please, please, please help me raise some money!! I have four weeks to raise as much money as possible, and every £ | $ | euro will help Leukemia Research tremendously in their search for a cure. All donations large and small will go towards helping Leukemia Research find a cure for this disease. To sponsor me, just go to my JustGiving.Com website to  make a donation. The more I can raise, the better I will feel, when I plunge into cold sea!!