Rasen Round Tablers ready to '˜row the distance'

Members of Market Rasen Round Table are preparing to say '˜Up Yours to Cancer' by rowing 55 miles across the English Channel .
From left to right: David Kerss, Rich Cameron, James Wooley, James Young, George Coopland, Matt Weeks and Tim Rinaldi.  EMN-170320-100233001From left to right: David Kerss, Rich Cameron, James Wooley, James Young, George Coopland, Matt Weeks and Tim Rinaldi.  EMN-170320-100233001
From left to right: David Kerss, Rich Cameron, James Wooley, James Young, George Coopland, Matt Weeks and Tim Rinaldi. EMN-170320-100233001

The ten men from the group - only one of whom has any previous rowing experience - are undertaking the challenge to support local charity The Ethan Maull Up Yours to Cancer Foundation.

The rowers plan to undertake their challenge on the first weekend in June this year and have been traning for their row since January.

The French authorities closed the Dover to Calais rowing route to ‘man powered’craft in 2013, which means the traditional 21 mile/five hour row across the Channel – used by many teams to raise charity funding - is prohibited.

However, the fundraisers will take a route from Nieuwpoort, Belgium to Ramsgate on the English coast.

The route is more than double the original one at 55 miles - and, as the team understands it, only five other teams have attempted the open water row.

It will take the ten men between 12 and 14 hours to ‘row the distance’ - weather dependent.

Team members describe the challenge as a ‘dawn to dusk’ endeavour.

The team will row in shifts throughout the course of the journey, with six team members rowing at a time.

Each rower will complete two two-hour and one four hour shift, with each 
rower clocking up an impressive eight hours of rowing each.

Daniel Quint, one of the team undertaking the mammoth crossing, said: “We’re doing this to support a local charity that really struck a chord with us.

“I was the tenth man to sign up - I’m quite unfit but I thought it was a very good thing to do.

“It’s something that as far as we know only five
teams have have attempted before.

“We’ve been doing loads of different training to prepare.

“As well as sessions in the gym, we’ve been 
running and swimming and travelling down to Portsmouth to train on the water at Langstone Adventure Rowing.”

The team are looking to reach a fundraising target of £20,000 for the Ethan Maull Up Yours To Cancer Foundation.

To donate to the Round Table rowers, visit their JustGiving page at https://www.justgiving.com/fundraising/RasenRowsTheChannel.

Where will the money go...?

The rowers are raising money for The Ethan Maull ‘Up Yours to Cancer’ Foundation, a Lincolnshire charity inspired by Ethan Maull, who was diagnosed with a rare form children’s bone cancer, aged eight years old.

After witnessing families travel long distances for treatment and struggle with accommodation costs, Ethan’s goal was to fund a house for use by the patients and families of ward E39 during treatment, like the existing ‘Billy’s House’ in Nottingham.

Ethan lost his fight with cancer in 2014, but the charity continues to work towards his goal.

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