18th February 10
Pair set to sail 100 miles in single-handed Lasers for the Trust

  Ian Patience, 47 and Duncan Adams, 27 have set themselves the challenge of sailing two Lasers across the North Sea from the River Blackwater to Ostend, Belgium non stop, covering nearly 100 miles as the crow flies, and expected to take over 12 hours.

Ian and Duncan have chosen to support 2 charities – The Ellen MacArthur Trust and Mind – and are aiming to raise a total of more than £10,000.

Both sailors are RYA Coaches, Ian is Head Coach Topper Class National Youth Squad and Duncan Admans is Head Coach of RYA Topper East Zone Squad, and they are also RYA Regional Club Coaches.

The challenge is made harder by the fact that both of the sailors feel they could be currently classified as unfit and so have decided to call their fundraising event ‘The Fat Boys Challenge’! They know that in order for them to achieve their goal, they will need to give it 100% commitment.

The current plan is to sail on 17 June 2010 when the weather is more settled and the days are longest. As far as Ian and Duncan are aware, no one has yet sailed a single handed dinghy across the North Sea while raising money for charities.  They will be receiving assistance from the team at Bradwell Outdoors, where the Trust runs its residential dinghy week each year.

We will keep you updated on their progress as they prepare for their North Sea challenge, and wish them both the best of luck.

To support Ian and Duncan on their Fat Boys Challenge please visit Virgin Money Giving here.

To find out more about the challenge they have set themselves, visit their website www.thefatboyschallenge.co.uk