31 July 2019
A pair of seasoned sailors will paddle their canoe along the longest canal in Britain to raise funds for the Ellen MacArthur Cancer Trust in September.
Cruising the 127 miles of the Leeds and Liverpool canal, crossing the Pennines, will be 80-year-old Paul Covell and 75-year-old John Baines. They depart from the centre of Leeds on 1 September and intend to arrive in Liverpool Docks 12 days later.
Paul has sailed around the world before, and both men have followed Ellen’s career – and they agree with her about the benefits of sailing. Now, with their passion for the water, and adventure, the paddlers are looking to raise money to help rebuild young people’s confidence after cancer.
Follow Paul and John’s journey on Instagram at @pensioners_paddle_the_pennines and support their challenge at Virgin Money Pensioners Paddle the Pennines
Izzy’s trio of adrenaline
Anniversaries are a special occasion. For Izzy Ball, October 2019 will mark 10 years since she was diagnosed with Hodgkins Lymphoma.
Her journey with the Trust began the following year. Sailing with us as a young person for eight years, she has volunteered on trips ever since, and will be back later this summer at our Waterpark residential.
The day after she turned 20, Izzy took on the Spinnaker Tower’s Trio Adrenaline activities in Portsmouth to raise funds for the Trust. Not for the faint of heart, the experience included abseiling and a drop from a platform on the tower!
She says her “confidence has grown so much because of the trips that I
wanted to give back.” She credits high ropes on a Trust trip for overcoming her fear of heights.
Izzy raised over £600 through a combination of online fundraising and collecting in person, particularly outside her church. She wanted to send the Trust a “massive thank you” – Izzy, thank you!
Meanwhile, on Sunday 18 August, Peter Swann will also abseil down the Spinnaker Tower Abseil for his 70th birthday!
Peter said: "I've been fortunate in my life to have a lovely family, enjoy a successful career, and be in good health too. So I wanted to give something back to others as opposed to getting gifts on my 70th birthday :-)"
Peter has already raised £445 and there's still three weeks to go! Thank you Peter and good luck!
Congratulations Tim!
12 hours, 92 kilometres: wind, tide, fog, sunshine, dolphins, friends and family, and many other fantastic memories. No wonder Tim Wiggins described his epic kayak around the Isle of Wight on Saturday 27 July as "a day I will certainly never forget."
Two years ago, Tim cycled the equivalent height of Mount Everest – all 8,848m of it – peddling up and down St Boniface Down in Ventnor 38 times over 16 hours to support young people in recovery from cancer.
But, having rekindled his passion for paddling over the winter, when he decided to kayak around the island he calls home, the Trust was who he chose to support again, raising almost £700 and counting so far. Read Tim's blog about the day here - The #KayakRTI — Non-Stop Around The Isle of Wight
Eddystone Adventure
Huge thanks to Simon Cook and the crew of 'First Point of Aries' who took part in the popular Eddystone Charity Sailing Pursuit for the Trust in June.
A truly corinthian
event, the race is designed to raise money for charities nominated by the individual yachts which enter. The charities supported must “benefit the human condition” and have a Registered Charity
Number.
Provided a yacht is equipped to sail a 26 mile offshore course from Plymouth Sound and back, and its entry falls within the criteria, be it large or small, racing or cruising (or neither), old or new, entry is welcomed! Reckon you could follow in Simon's wake next year? Find all the details at the official Eddystone Charity Sailing Pursuit website.
Fantastic Female Adventurers
Feats of strength and endurance always make for great stories. Now Lily Dyu’s forthcoming book, called Fantastic Female Adventurers, will see a proportion of the book’s royalties go to the Ellen MacArthur Cancer Trust!
Fourteen incredible women will be featured, including: Mira Rai, 
the Nepalese cyclist who spent
seven years travelling the world by bike; New Zealand adventure athlete and world record holder Emma Timmis; and Helen Sharman, the first British astronaut.
And of course, read stories of sailing with our very own Ellen MacArthur, the girl who saved up her lunch money to buy her first boat. Fantastic Female Adventurers is available to pre-order here from publisher Shrine Bell’s website.