A RALLYING call by sea adventurer Simon Chalk to save his Teignmouth-based round-the-world sailing project met with cries of support at a public meeting on Tuesday.

It comes after the district council decided not to extend his time on the Den – known as the gem of Teignmouth – for an extra 12 months. Mr Chalk, 33, says that unless he gets an extension until next February, the boat will have to go out by road or launched unfinished – something that would be a 'huge failure' for the town.

He told the meeting: 'I would be embarrassed and it is likely that it will be the end of the project. 'After all we have been through with the boat shed and everything else along the way, we will have nothing at the end of it that would be of benefit to the town.'

Mr Chalk has sunk hundreds of thousands of pounds into the project, which has received a lot of criticism because of the siting of the boat build and visitor centre on the Den. Many objectors at the meeting said they admired his vision, but could not support the building where it was. Some blamed the district council for allowing the build to take place on the recreational ground.

But Mr Chalk said: 'I cannot change that. 'And if I'm honest, if I knew the uproar it would have caused I would not have come to Teignmouth. I would have never considered it,' he said. But he remains committed to Teignmouth.

He said that he will still start and finish the record attempt at Teignmouth and does not want to fight with the town. l from page one Crucially, if district planners reject his extension bid, he said that he would not appeal. 'If we are not granted this permission we will not appeal. if we get notice to quit we will go.

'We do not want to fight with Teignmouth after it had the grace to have us here in the first place.' Teignmouth was the only option for Mr Chalk as his home port, despite cash offers from Torbay to site the project there. In a candid question and answer session, he told the 100-strong audience – just a handful of the 15,000 Teignmouth population – that mistakes had been made in the project. The team should have allowed for weather delays, bureaucratic negotiations and sourcing materials. A major setback had been a lack of carbon fibre for the boat build. He also said the determination to use skilled boat builders, who are expensive and few and far between, had been a problem. 'But we are changing the way we work on the build from now on,' he said. One resident, who said he was neutral about the project, was yet to be convinced that Mr Chalk 'will do what you say you will in Teignmouth'. Mr Chalk replied: 'I'd like to prove you wrong. I want to make this the biggest success we can and, however divided we have been so far, if we stand together we can do it,' he said. The launch will cost a further £147,000 on top of the £350,000 visitor centre and £100,000 overspend. Mr Chalk answered criticisms about his financial solvency. He said that a downshift in the housing market had affected his property development business but insisted that 'the money is set aside' to launch the boat. South Devon Chamber of Tourism chairman Bob Bailey said that Teignmouth could not be the town that chucks the sea adventurer out. Another resident, Rod Cameron, said that Teignmouth had a long and prosperous history as a seaside resort. 'what is another six months or so in comparison with that?' he said. Town councillor Sylvia Russell said that everyone wanted to see the shed gone, 'but we want him to go with Teignmouth's blessing, not despite of it,' she said.