Absolutely fantastic.

Thank you all for you donations and thank you Zurich for the additional £500 that makes the total over £1500.

I'm leaving the page open until the end of June for anyone who still has the urge to donate as all funds are welcome.

 

Update on the day.

The morning had started badly due to choosing a wrong size sail and conditions that were not suitable for a beginner. At one point I was advised to not sail due to the winds and waves being too strong. I set off at 10:35 and by lunch time I was battered and bruised having spent more time in the water than on it, by 3pm I had only covered 6 miles and was close to tears with frustration as I felt the task was slipping away. My one hand had swollen, due to the tighteness of the GPS around my wrist, which prevented me from holding onto my sail and I really began to feel I should give up. With so many people about and so much riding on my succes I was not about to cave in. I came off the water and changed to a new sail. The combination of a smaller sail and the beginnings of newly developed skills, bourne out of adversity, I slowly began to clock up the miles. I was told on a number of occassion, come back tomorrow and finish off, but that was not my challenge. As the afternoon wore on I slowly realised that I could do this. With an aching body I just kept going out. The support from the other windsurfers and their families on the bankside kept me going. We had to be off the water by 8pm and at 7:20 I was still 2.4 miles short. I set off for the final push with Mike Walklin. I want to say a big thanks for helping me through those final stages as I know how much the day meant to him. With a lot of determination I made it with 4 minutes to spare. As you can imagine, this resulted in all sorts of emotions and my arrival at the bank of the reservoir brought them all out. I had set myself a challenge, and a challenge it became and one I will never forget.

To see a photo of me finishing http://www.gwent-adventures.co.uk/

Why?

I was sat quietly on the banks of Llandegfedd Reservoir watching my son, Morgan, sailing his windsurfer, he completed a perfect tack around a buoy and was setting course for the next mark off in the distance. A fish jumped and splashed down back into the water and I caught a quick flash of silver. It was a bright sunny winter's day and the wind was blowing nice and steady. Perfick! as Pa Larkin would have said.

I wandered back to get another coffee and settle back to enjoy the rest of the afternoon. Mike, the instructor came over and we started chatting. He asked me to help organise the kids (can I call teenagers kids?)  for a charity day. He then went on to give me the story of David Tuttlebee and his ongoing fight against Cancer (read his blog on the charity website). I agreed to help and looked up and couldn't see Morgan, this was because he had landed and was tucked below the bank.

That first moment of panic of not finding Morgan caused me to reflect more. I was lucky that I had this time with my son and could enjoy these wonderful days. Not everyone can.

Hence my decision not just to sit on the bank making burgers and tea but to take an active part. 

My employer, Zurich, will match by 50% any monies I raise up to a maximum of £500. I have therefore set myself the target of £1000 to raise the maximum for this worthwhile cause. This is a huge goal which needs your help to achieve.

 

Pinching the idea from Sport Relief and adapting it for the challenge,

I propose to windsurf the equivalent of the English Channel during the day.

Armed only with my level 1 certificate, which means I can just about stand up on a windsurf board, sail out to a point and get back, this is not something that will be easy. Depending on the wind conditions this may take between 4-6 hours.

 

Cancer is a disease that most people have a story about. They either know someone who has had it, or have even suffered some form themselves.

Support me to help those trying to help either cure or care for those people with Cancer.

 

Donating through JustGiving is simple, fast and totally secure. Your details are safe with JustGiving – they’ll never sell them on or send unwanted emails. Once you donate, they’ll send your money directly to the charity and make sure Gift Aid is reclaimed on every eligible donation by a UK taxpayer. So it’s the most efficient way to donate - I raise more, whilst saving time and cutting costs for the charity.

So please dig deep and donate now.