My Story

I am raising money for the RNLI and running the London Marathon 2025! The RNLI is an amazing charity of inspiring people - something I know firsthand. Rescue teams from Studland Bay, Poole and other stations were heavily involved in the search for my dad when he was lost at sea in 2018. He didn't make it. My family and I started fundraising in his memory in 2018, raising over £15,000 so far.

Dad enjoyed running: he participated in loads of Great North Runs and an odd London Marathon or two - I have fond memories of playing with the medals he kept in a drawer in the kitchen (why there, I don't know!). We used to run together when I was a teenager and I picked up running again after he died and I'm excited about running London in his memory.

On Saturday 6th October 2018, Dad was paddling in his kayak as part of an organised race and, due to the adverse weather conditions, was separated from the racing group and stranded at sea. He was located after an extensive and dedicated search and rescue operation on Sunday afternoon and was pronounced dead at the scene.

Many contributed to and supported my family during the search for Dad - the RNLI, HM Coastguard, The Royal Navy (especially the crew of HMS Tyne), the Dorset Police, volunteers and members of the public walking on the coastline and those who supported these efforts from afar. The search operation was one of the largest of its kind for the RNLI and the Coastguard and we could not imagine how much worse our experience would have been without their expertise. Every single possible resource was deployed and we have such a huge amount of respect and gratitude for those who dedicate their time and energy to providing safety for those at sea. 

More on the search and the volunteers here: https://rnli.org/magazine/magazine-featured-list/2020/february/the-search-for-a-missing-kayaker