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NAVY NEWS, FEBRUARY 2011


27


Severe run for Severn man


MOST people drafted to HMS Severn think one thing: fish.


But not CPO Ian ‘Mac’ McDougall.


Assigned to the


fishery protection ship as her assistant marine engineer officer, the senior rate was possessed by a single thought: to run the length of the namesake river. In one go. That’s 220 miles. Ian, a keen runner, has already completed several endurance events:


‘ultra’ marathons and


the Grand Union Canal Race... covering the entire 145-mile- length of the manmade waterway from Birmingham to London. But that’s still 75 miles fewer than the length of the Severn. Oddly, there’s no Severn Race... so the senior rate devised his own – following the Severn Way from the official mouth of the river (Severn Beach, just south of the new Severn crossing) to the source at Plynlimon, a dozen miles east of Aberystwyth, vowing to cover the distance in three days. So on a cold winter’s morning with a lightweight tent on his back, two fully-charged iPod shuffles to provide the entertainment, he set out.


After a day and a half pounding the trail, Ian reckoned he deserved a break, pitched tent and got his head down.


Once refreshed he was on his feet again for another lengthy stint. He stopped just once more – not through exhaustion but because


Talent gives to Hope


THE MEN of Plymouth-based submarine HMS Talent headed north to their affi liated town of Shrewsbury to present funds to the Hope House Hospice. The hospice is the submarine’s official charity, and sailors raised £1,726 through horse-racing nights and raffles during their recent deployment. Lt Greg Stopps said: “It was


very thought-provoking and somewhat humbling to see the hard work that these care workers do in supporting the sick children in their time of need. “The facilities are first rate and


I am very pleaed we could do our little bit in helping them raise some of the £5 million that it costs to fund the hospice for a year.”


point to point


THE fi nal presentation took place last month of the efforts of the RN and RAF Servicement from RAF Cottesmore to completed the Point to Point round-Britain motorcyle ride.


The team completed a 3,500 mile ride over 14 days,


the support of some impressive sponsors including: Triumph UK, Nissan GB, and Direct CCTV. In total, £15,458 was raised for Help for Heroes. If you wish to support this


event, you can online at www. helpforheroes-pointtopoint. webs.com.


Marathon Star needed


The Royal Star & Garter Homes for disabled ex-Service men and women are looking for a Navy News reader to run in this year’s London Marathon. If you would be interested, contact Susan Harley on 020 8439 8118 or sue.harley@ starandgarter.org.


with Motorcycle


Surf’s up for charity windsurfers


THE Navy, Army and RAF


he wanted to complete the final ten miles of the odyssey in daylight (not least because the terrain in the Cambrian mountains was challenging).


Squad dipped into their pockets, raising £600. That’s been raised to £1,000


And so he reached the source of the Severn in daylight (taking a self-portrait as proof) before a small six-mile run to meet his ride back to civilisation. All this was done while the


engineer was on watch leave; his ship was ploughing through UK waters, receiving regular updates on the chief’s progress,


throwing money into the charity pot.


As Ian racked up the miles, so Severn and the rest of the Cod


and


courtesy of profits from the newsagents Ian and his partner Jo run in Gosport, Queen’s Parade News.


The fund-raising didn’t stop there aboard Severn, however, which has staged pizza nights, fish racing nights (substituting fish for the more typical horses), beard- growing and collections, bringing the total collected by the River- class ship to £1,500.


windsurfi ng teams set themselves the challenge to windsurf around the Isle of Wight. Twenty people took up the trial, in a combination of relay teams and solo attempts. In total, the challenge raised £20,000 for Help for Heroes, and £5,000 for each of the Service charities. The day started out with a demanding Force 4 wind from the west, which meant that as a windsurfer cannot sail directly into the wind the straight-line distance of ten nautical miles would be at least half as much again. This lost some of the challengers before the Needles, but those who got ahead of the tide and made it round had the benefit of the wind helping them along the south of the island.


Once this leg of 20 nautical miles


The proceeds will be divided among Kids in Fareham, RNRMC, the Multiple Sclerosis Trust and Forrest Holm Cancer Hospice.


THIS year WO Mark Duffy of HMS Collingwood is tackling a mammoth challenge of nine half marathons and three full 26-mile slogs to raise money for the Royal Navy and Royal Marines Charity (RNRMC).


Marathon Mark runs for RNRMC


The senior rate (pictured right), who is based at the Royal Navy Leadership Academy, is a keen runner.


He said: “The challenge, I feel, will be hard work over the period of 12 months, taking into account that with each event comes all the training required. “But if every single member of the RN and RM donated £1 we would raise over £34,000 for the charity. But if I raise just £1 it would still be worthwhile for the sake of the RNRMC.”


submariner around the country, visiting Chester,


The races will summon the Oxford,


Silverstone, Newcastle and various other places. If you would like to show your


support, please visit his website at www.virginmoneygiving.com/ marc.duffy2.


■ THE RNRMC is the largest grant maker to the Naval Service. At the end of last year, two of its subsidiary charities agreed grants. The Naval Service Amenity Fund provides grants for a range of activities focused entirely on the Service and on their families. At its last meeting,


the


committee agreed the following grants: ■ Half yearly grants to ships, RM units and other operational units’ welfare funds – £126,000 ■ Allocation to the minor grant fund – £70,000 ■ Grants to support major projects – £166,200 including: ■ 45 Commando – refurbishment of the WO and Sergeant’s mess – £9,500 ■ Naval Outdoor Centre


Germany – ongoing grant to support NOCG’s activities –£20,000 ■ Gibraltar – replacement fishing boat - £23,000 ■ Rothiemurchus Lodge,


Cairngorms – upgrade heating and hot water systems – £27,000 ■ RNSA – support entry to the 2011 Rolex Fastnet race – £10,000 ■ International Military


Enter the Poppy Lottery and every time you play you’ll be helping serving and ex-Service people and their families.


100 cash prizes are awarded every week including a jackpot of £2,000! Each weekly entry costs just £1.


Pilgrimage to Lourdes – enabling serving personnel to attend the 2011 pilgrimage – £11,000 ■ HCPT Pilgrimage to Lourdes – to support children with learning difficulties to experience the pilgrimage – £20,000 ■ HMS Nelson – Wifi enabling


the Wardroom – £13,700 ■ HMS Daring – upgrading the


Wardroom and WO and SR Mess – £32,000


Service Benevolent Fund agreed grants to: ■ Royal Naval Benevolent Trust – £100,000, including £30,000 towards replacing the boilers at the Pembroke House Care Home; ■ Royal Navy and Royal


Marine’s Children’s Fund – £100,000 ■ WRNS Benevolent Trust –


£4,000 ■ Mutual Support – the Armed


£8,000 ■ Alabare Christian Care –


Forces Multiple Sclerosis Group – £5,000.


The committee of the Naval


To enter visit www.poppy.org/enter or call today on


01524 752904 (9am-5pm Mon-Fri)


Legion benefi ciary Gunner Mark Stonelake was serving in Afghanistan when he lost a leg in an explosion.


was completed, the windsurfers passed St Catherine’s Point; the windsurfing became trickier in light winds towards the East


Solent, with the wind dropping as the sun began to set. The first entry to complete the challenge (without stopping or changing equipment) was the Royal Navy pair, Cdr Gerry Northwood and AB(Diver) Steve Roberts. The duo managed to complete their island lap in ten hours. Two Army teams also completed the challenge, and an RAF team in a relay. The other members of the Navy team relayed to the halfway point, at which stage the wind died, bringing their attempt to a halt due to safety reasons. The full Navy team were: Cdr


Gerry Northwood, Lt Simon Cave, Lt Phil Bent, WO1 Dave Strudwick, PO Gav Nicolson, and AB(D) Steve Roberts. Lt Phil Bent said: “The Forces Windsurfi ng Challenge certainly lived up to its name; 110miles over 10 gruelling hours, it was the most demanding physical and mental challenge most windsurfers will ever have to complete.”


Boosting the Bike Ride


TEAM FFB – the Fit, the Fat, and the Beautiful – are getting into training for this year’s Big Battlefi eld Bike Ride 2011 in aid of Help for Heroes. Royal Fleet Auxiliary Medical


Technician Don Bradshaw (pictured above with his “favourite exercise bike” on RFA Diligence east of Suez) has neglected to tell us whether he is fit, fat or beautiful, but did say that he was hoping to return to the UK in April “a lot lighter than I am now”. Don, who served in the Royal


Navy for 23 years before signing up with the RFA, will be joined by his wife Pippa, who is still serving with the RN and about to join HMS Illustrious, and her brother Chris. (We’re hoping for the sake of marital harmony that Pippa is the Beautiful in the team...) If you would like to support Don in his fundraising and weightlosing efforts, he can be reached at RFA Diligence, BFPO 438, or email 438-medtech@a. dii.mod.uk.


Licensed by the Gambling Commission www.gamblingcommission.gov.uk Promoter: The Royal British Legion, Haig House, 199 Borough High Street, London SE1 1AA. Registered Charity No. 219279


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