STOP PRESS;

Latest updates;

1.  Double Olympic Medallist sailor Simon Hiscocks will be our Official Finisher for the event, seeing the Teams across the line at Portland Bill.

2. We now have a fantastic competition to win £250 worth of brand new Rooster Sailing and RAFBF cycling kit running on Facebook. Follow link to the Cameron Tweedle Sailing Facebook Page;

https://www.facebook.com/816713278339694/posts/1963278767016467/

Thanks for taking the time to visit my JustGiving page.

In a unique challenge this June, a 'Top Gear' style race will take place between a team of Sailors and a team of Cyclists from RAF Brize Norton, over the nominal 100 miles from the Mount Batten Centre (formerly RAF Mount Batten), Plymouth, to Portland Bill, Dorset, in order to raise funds for the RAF Benevolent Fund.

In this, the 100th Anniversary year of the Royal Air Force, the work of the RAF Benevolent Fund is as much needed as it ever was.  Ever present since 1919, the Charity supports current and former serving members, as well as their partners and dependent children, in their times of need.  The RAF Benevolent Fund is an independent charity that receives no regular Govt funding, and is dependent on donations and fundraising to continue its welfare work for the RAF family.

Meet the Team;

Cameron Tweedle - Skipper.  Aged 19 and an Ambassador for the RAF Benevolent Fund, Cameron competes internationally in the Olympic Finn Class.  Ranked 53rd in the World, he has won the UK Finn Travellers Trophy for the past 2 years.  Having grown up in an RAF environment in Oxfordshire, he now lives on Portland where he trains full-time to gain selection to Team GB.

 Jon Tweedle - Crew.  Jon has served 22 years in the RAF as an Air LoadMaster on the Hercules and C17 transport aircraft.  Also a Finn sailor, he has just returned from the Finn World Masters Champs in Spain where he achieved 31st place from a fleet of 352 cometitors from 32 countries.  A former RAF Sailing Champion, he now spends much of his time outside of work coaching and instructing young sailors at Oxford Sailing Club.

Natalie Roach - Crew.  Natalie has served 10 years in the Royal Navy as a Meteorologist and Oceanographer. An RS2000 and Enterprise sailor, she has achieved numerous top-5 results at National and European level, including the Ladies National Champion title.  Currently in the Royal Navy Sailing Team, she competed at the Inter-Services Champs, winning the title for the RN.  Natalie lives in Plymouth and comes from a family of competitive dinghy racers.

The Cycle Team will be made up of 3 riders from the RAF Brize Norton Cycling Club (Rich Meadows, Adam Moyle and Joe Colley) who have experience of National and International racing..  Experienced racers on both road and track, they will no doubt start the event as favourites to win.

There's no doubt that this is going to be an arduous challenge, with the weather playing a major part in how it goes.  Whilst the cycle route includes a lot of very hard climbs (over 11500 feet), the Sailing Team will have to deal with the notorious Lyme Bay waves.  Estimated time to complete the course should be around 7-8 hours.

RS Sailing will be broadcasting the event live on social media throughout the day and there will be live trackers on the boat and the cyclists so you'll be able to see how the race progresses during the day.

If you’d rather text-to-donate, text ‘BVSB99’ followed by the amount you’d like to donate, ie. ‘£10’ to 70070