This is the official page for 'The Addenbrookes Sailing Challenge'.
The purpose of The Addenbrookes Sailing Challenge is to help raise money for Addenbrookes Hospital who are desperately in need of a new model of robot. The robot is to treat people with Cancer such as prostate, testicular, kidney and bowel.
The demand for robot surgery has arisen from the increase of keyhole surgery, this robot technique offers several advantages – namely that recovery times are faster as small wounds heal quicker than large ones; the need to slice through as much skin and muscle is removed; so rehabilitation is quicker; the chance of post-operative infection is reduced; and the whole process is, literally, less traumatic.
The robot system also features tremor filtering, removing any shaking from the surgeon’s movements on the controls before transmitting them to the machine’s arms; and scaled movement, so that a movement of 1cm of the surgeon’s hands becomes a movement of 1mm of the robot’s manipulations. "This is important for suturing, for example; the surgeon doesn’t have to make tiny, repeated movements to produce the very small stitches needed to rejoin the urethra to the bladder in radical prostatectomy.
Submitting yourself to surgery is perhaps the ultimate loss of control and the thought of losing control to a machine, rather than a human, is a difficult step. However, the object of robot surgery is in fact the exact opposite of surrendering to a machine, as the concept aims to restore control of the surgery to a human surgeon by playing to the strengths of both human and robot. Therefore, advances in robotics are helping surgeons perform a variety of increasingly complex procedures and in recent years has become widely used for prostate cancer surgery.
In order to complete The Addenbrookes Sailing Challenge, we have enlisted several Yachtmasters who have agreed to skipper yachts on an attempted (weather permitting) English Channel crossing from the Solent to Cherbourg on the first crossing and then St Vaas on the second crossing (both in France). Each yacht will have an experienced Skipper and First Mate and 6 other crew/passengers. In order to become part of the crew, or a passenger, on one of the yachts all you have to do is to agree to raise at least £200 of Gift Aided sponsorship.
The Addenbrookes Sailing Challenge will take place on the weekends of the 22nd 23rd and 24th July and 5th 6th and 7th August 2011. Southern Sailing School has offered to donate 'The Addenbrookes Sailing Challenge' Trophy and a bottle of Champagne to the crew that raises the most sponsorship. They will also give 2 free sailing courses to the most promising newcomer to sailing. These will be presented by a famous luminary at a social event after the Challenge.
We've joined together to raise money for charity. You'll see our team fundraising target on the right. Your donation can really help us smash this goal.
If you wish to be involved in The Addenbrookes Sailing Challenge or just want to find out more about raising money for the cause, either ring John on 07866 259074 or Carl on 07836 514996 or email sailing@carlshaw.co.uk.
Remember: Donating through JustGiving is simple, fast and totally secure. Your details are safe with JustGiving - they'll never share them with anyone or send you unwanted emails. Once you donate, they'll send your money directly to the charity. They'll make sure Gift Aid (an additional 25%) is reclaimed on every eligible donation by a UK taxpayer, too. That means more money goes to the charity, faster, with JustGiving.
So please dig deep and donate now.
