Thanks for taking the time to visit my JustGiving page.

The World Cruising Club ARC (Atlantic Rally Challenge) is an event I have wished to take part in since my Twenties. Now I have retired I have been presented with the opportunity. 

The 'ARC' is a 'must do' for many sailors, it attracts over 200 boats and 1200 people every year to sail 2700NM across the Atlantic from Gran Canaria to Saint Lucia.

The ARC is for everyone; families with children, tough racers, cruising couples, big boats and modest boats alike. Crossing the Atlantic together, but having their own adventures. More than just a boat race, the ARC is about friendships made ashore in the two weeks of pre-departure activities continued over the radio net at sea. It's about arriving in Saint Lucia to be met on the dock with a rum punch and a chilled beer, knowing that you have achieved something fantastic - crossing an ocean in a small sailboat. 

I decided that this would also be an excellent opportunity to raise funds for a worthwhile cause which is close to my heart. My daughter has suffered with a rare genetic condition which has led to her needing three liver transplants. Two of these operations have taken place at the University of Birmingham Queen Elizabeth Hospital. This is an excellent facility where the staff are not only highly skilled but also hugely talented and dedicated to their work and patients, saving patients lives on a daily basis. 

Queen Elizabeth Hospital Birmingham Charity exists to support the patients of University Hospitals Birmingham NHS Foundation Trust.

They do this by providing extra equipment and facilities at the Queen Elizabeth Hospital and by funding research, all of which are over and above core NHS services. None of your donation is used to replace core NHS funding.

The charity also supports the UK’s military patients who are treated at the Royal Centre for Defence Medicine.

To continue with this work, they rely on the generous support of individuals and companies.