Four men in a yacht have been dogged by storms and wild seas on a 2000 mile long
charity round-
Battling through snow, hail and gales, the group of friends have reached the Hebrides, hitting the halfway mark in their three month long fundraising adventure for the Teenage Cancer Trust.
They departed from the Beaulieu River by the Solent on the south coast of England
and sailed east, going anti-
The crew of Peter Best, Peter Soddy, Mark Bales and Mike O’Brien are visiting 40
ports and anchorages in England, Scotland and Ireland on the Honey Bee, a Baltic-
They are meeting all the costs of the challenge themselves so everything donated goes to the charity.
Peter Best said: “So far, we’ve raised about £8,000 and by the time we get home that should be close on £10,000.
“We have a JustGiving pages and some marinas have been extremely generous by not charging us berthing fees so the money we would have paid goes into the pot.”
He added: “A lot of people we know suffer from cancer but its particularly cruel when it affects kids.
“We thought it would be good to raise some money for those less fortunate than ourselves and believe that Teenage Cancer Trust is a charity that everyone can identify with.
“Cancer does not differentiate and every day seven young people are diagnosed with this dreadful disease.”
Pippa MacBain, fundraising coordinator at Teenage Cancer Trust, said: We're so grateful to the Honey Bee crew for taking on this amazing challenge to support young people with cancer – we'll be cheering them along the way.
“Currently for every young person with cancer Teenage Cancer Trust reaches, there’s another we can’t.
“Money raised will ensure every young person facing cancer has access to our expect care, regardless of where they live or choose to be treated.”
All are experienced sailors but none have completed a circumnavigation of Britain.
The coastal sailing threw up a new set of challenges.
Preparing for the worst, they were all thrown into the water on a sea survival course to experience the trials of getting into their life raft if they ever have to abandon ship.
They hit big seas on passage to the north of Scotland, were tossed about in a strong winds, and tackled what can be a dangerous run across the choppy Pentland Firth, to Orkney.
Stormbound in Stornoway allowed them time to recover before venturing on a southbound zigzag course through the Inner Hebrides to the Irish Sea before they finally reach home late next month.
The Honey Bee Sailing Round Britain page is available at www.justgiving.com.
Round Britain cancer charity yacht fundraiser stops off in Stornoway
26 April 2018
The Honey Bee