The brother of a man who took his own life is to kayak around the island in his memory.

Karl Staniford’s brother Cameron was just 20 years old when he died in 2019.

He was a musician who wrote and performed his own songs.

One of them, ’Float Away’, is the reason behind Karl’s kayaking challenge.

Karl, 33, said: ’It’s a great song but it breaks my heart every time I listen to it. I didn’t grasp at the time how bad things actually were for my brother.

’The lyrics talk about having a troubled mind, people judging you, things bringing you down, and how even simple tasks in life become difficult. In the song, he gives advice on how we shouldn’t let our minds get washed away, go to the clouds and float away.

’I wanted to do something that resonates with that in honour of my little brother.’

Karl said that he’s not an experienced kayaker but has been training.

’I’ve been doing a lot of training - the first time I sat in a kayak was in July last year. Since then, I’ve been going out whenever possible with Sea Kayaking IoM,’ he said.

’We’ve been out in testing conditions, when there’s been strong winds, huge waves around the island and I’ve spent a lot of times getting "rescued", and when you’ve been out in those harsher conditions you feel more experienced and that’s all under the guidance of the group.’

Karl said that during December 2020, he did a rowing machine challenge of 150km, then in January 25km in one sitting as well as other training. In February, he did a half-marathon, and throughout March he’s been doing interval training.

He said there’s not a set date yet.

’It’s all down to the weather,’ he said.

’Sea Kayakers IoM said that you can go around the island at any given point, but there’s certain weather conditions that you can time it for. A lot of people who have done it have started from Peel and headed north.

’Because we need that flexibility, we haven’t set a date, it’s just a case of keeping an eye on the weather and as soon as we know, we’ll get out.’

Karl said there’s been overwhelming support on his fund-raising page so far, with more than £3,500 donated.

The money will go towards mental health charities - Isle Listen, Quing and Cruse Bereavement Care, who have all been supportive through his and his family’s grief.

He said: ’We went through a range of emotions, it was tough. We went through anger, guilt, shock, and then you remember the good times and you go through raw emotions - still do now, really. A lot of anxiety, too.

’We know something like this needs time to heal and the one thing it’s taught us is to not take any time with the family for granted.’

Karl’s fundraising page is online at: www.justgiving.com