|
Fundraiser of the month, January 2006
Two naked men in a boat
Olympic Gold medallist James Cracknell and TV reporter Ben Fogle
are a few days away from reaching land in Antigua after rowing across
the Atlantic from the Canary Islands — a trip that has taken two months
and has been a true test of grit and determination.
Rowing nearly 3,000 miles, the men have seen nothing but water,
will have lost between 2 1/2 and 3 stone, slept no more than three hours
at a time, eaten and drunk only what they have been able to carry on
the boat, and beaten loneliness, boredom, celibacy
and sunstroke. And they are rowing naked.
At the time of writing it looks as though they will be the
first double crew to reach Antigua, beating 19 other two person boats
in the Atlantic Rowing Race 2005.
They are expected to reach land early on January 18 after rowing
2,931 miles and have so far raised over £13,000 for Children
in Need, to help some of Britain's most needy children. They are hoping
to raise at least £50 for each mile they row.
"This is the toughest thing that either of us have ever undertaken. Every
one of you that supports us, drives us on another mile and every pound
you donate helps a child in need. Please give as much as you can afford,"
they say on their Justgiving fundraising page www.justgiving.com/2meninaboat.
"We've had battery problems with our GPS navigation so we are having
to steer by the sun and the moon," says James in a recent dispatch from
the boat.
"We haven't stood up for several weeks so we are getting more and more
bent over, like cavemen... We've got a lot of blisters, which aren't
going to go away.
"Our bums are sore and our mattress is getting smaller as we keep having
to cut bits off it to pad the seat.
"When we arrive, we are going to look disgusting, like trampy Robinson
Crusoes. I lost my shorts when I hung them out to dry so I have to row
naked when I'm not borrowing Ben's pants."
Boredom has been somewhat relieved by a whale which followed them for
10 days and dolphins that come and swim round the boat at night.
To encourage James and Ben to keep their lead in the race please sponsor
them now by clicking www.justgiving.com/2meninaboat.
You may not be up to rowing the Atlantic, but if you'd like to set up
your own fundraising page all you need to do is decide on your challenge
and choose one of some 1,000 charities featured on Justgiving, then click
here http://www.justgiving.com/process/raisemoney.
Writing a personal message like Matt and using a good photo — or several
— helps encourage friends and colleagues to get into the spirit and donate
generously too.
Previous fundraisers of the month:
|
