Snipe sailor to swim the length of the River Blackwater for charity

Snipes at Blackwater © BSC

One of the Snipe class active members is taking on a big challenge this weekend for charity

During the closed season, Richard Marshall, a member of Blackwater Sailing Club had his right ankle fused due to deterioration of the joint leaving him with minimal movement in his ankle and in a cast for four months. Richard had been seeing specialists for pretty much all his life and ended up being referred to The Royal National Orthopaedic Hospital in Stanmore about a year ago.

Following the operation and having learnt to walk again, Richard started swimming to support his rehabilitation programme. It was during a conversation at the sailing club that the idea came from and where he decided to set himself a challenge to swim the length of the River Blackwater.

And so on Sunday 15th July at 930 he will set off. The route will start at the Nass Beacon just off West Mersea and will end at Maldon Hythe Quay which is a distance of approximately 11 miles over ground which is just under half the width of the English Channel. His aim is to complete this in around 3.5 hours and he roped in friends to support him achieve his goal.

Richard is doing this to raise money for two charities close to his heart, the RNLI who do so much amazing work around England's coastline, and the Royal National Orthopaedic Hospital who performed the operation.

Richards story is a wonderful one and we wish him the best of success on Sunday.

If you wish read more about Richard, or donate, please see: uk.virginmoneygiving.com/RichardMarshall16