Local fundraising champion, Johnny Bakewell, is back in Britain having rowed across the Atlantic Ocean to raise over £5,000 for The Benjamin Foundation.
Local paramedic, Johnny spent 47 days at sea rowing 3 hours on, 3 hours off, 24 hours a day in what was a physical, psychological and emotional challenge. The purpose of Johnny’s monumental adventure was to support the work of The Benjamin Foundation in its 30th year.
Johnny has a long history of taking on endurance challenges, having competed in the Transcontinental race, the Trans-Atlantic Way ride and his own 1350-mile version of Land’s End to John O’Groats that incorporated the Three Peaks.
Preparations included a practice week off the Essex Coast. Setting off as a team of ten from Tenerife on December 1st, Johnny found his first few days “surreal”
stating that “the adventure builds on you, and you absorb it as you go along. You start to get used to the fact that you haven’t had any sleep and the longer it goes on the more you begin to learn about each other and yourself – you can’t sidestep that.”
The weather early in the row was wild at times, with Johnny experiencing “40-foot waves and big seas. For the first three weeks we were never dry. You were either on the deck completely soaked by the sea, or you were in the cabin with the door shut and lying in a bed of sweat, because of the heat and little by way of ventilation.”
The group battled problems beyond the weather in those first few weeks, having to replace a lost rudder on day two and then rowing as a team of 9 from the beginning of week two to six, whilst one crew member recovered from injury. Despite this, morale remained high in the lead-up to a Christmas which would be spent somewhere in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean. Christmas soon came around with Johnny spending it in the middle of the Atlantic. After some songs and a few small
gifts shared, the crew had an opportunity for a swim before making a much anticipated phone call home.
“In the last week the sea was horribly calm with hardly any wind. We were desperate to get there but getting nowhere which was really difficult. Thankfully, in the last three days the wind got up and we actually ended up doing multiple back-to-back 10 mile shifts. Knowing that our families were going to be there to meet us was just incredible and it’s amazing how important you soon realise that is from a motivational perspective.”
Johnny’s physical accomplishment transcends the 3,000-mile trip he’s completed, as he also hit £5,000 on his JustGiving page. All the money raised from this challenge is going towards supporting local charity, The Benjamin Foundation, which delivers positive outcomes to 3,000 children, young people and families across Norfolk and Suffolk each year.
Explaining why he chose to support The Benjamin Foundation, Johnny said “the decision came about after we hosted a mother and her son from Ukraine, who lived with us for a year. At the end of this time, The Benjamin Foundation were integral in helping to source accommodation for them and we became aware of the work that they do.”
“We are incredibly grateful and excited about the support from Johnny” Kirsty Pitcher, CEO at The Benjamin Foundation said. “With this year being our 30th Anniversary, we see Johnny’s 3,000 mile adventure as a great opportunity to raise important awareness of the needs of young people supported by our charity and encourage others to step up in support of local causes.”
Setting sights on £10,000, you can continue to donate to his page by visiting JustGiving here
100% of money raised is going towards supporting the work of local charity, The Benjamin Foundation. For further information, please contact visit www.benjaminfoundation.co.uk
