Having completed a strenuous row down the Thames, Scott Bradbury & Kevin Iles wanted to push the boat (pun intended) out a little further and pitched the idea of rowing the channel to the masses!
Myself, Kirk Johnson, Mike Harris and Martyn Hall stepped up confidently to join them! However before doing so I think we failed to gauge that we would be rowing across the open sea and more importantly across one of the busiest shipping lanes in the world, competing with ferries and huge tankers......i know who my money's on in a fight.
I think the severity of the task hit home when we realised that less than 40 people/teams have ever managed to cross the channel successfully, we all saw what happened to 2 of the Topgear team and they had engines to help!
In 2007 2 guys (both experienced rowers) completed the feat but i just wanted to use some words that they used to describe and summarise their ordeal:
'Terrifying', 'Horrendous', '10 foot waves' and my favourite, 'It really was the worst day of my life' but at the end of the article they also pointed out the most important thing.......'the funds we raised for the charity made it all worthwhile in the end' and this is going to be our motivation for the event.
The 6 of us are hoping to raise money for local London charity Ahoy. Ahoy is a watersports centre aimed at helping disadvantaged youth and people with disabilities become active and involved in watersports. There is a major focus on teamwork and personal development, and through the courses and activities they look to build self-esteem, confidence and offer training which will lead to employment. As a local charity 100% of the money will go to the centre and they run entirely off money raised so reaching the £10k is a necessity.
PLEASE HELP US TO HELP THEM! ANY HELP WOULD BE GREATLY APPRECIATED AND WILL MAKE A REAL DIFFERENCE!
For more info please visit www.ahoy.org.uk!
