Local fundraising champion, Johnny Bakewell, is back in Britain having rowed across the Atlantic Ocean to raise over £5,000 for The Benjamin Foundation.

Setting off on December 1st, local paramedic Johnny spent 47 days at sea rowing on-and-off for 12 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 completing a range of high-endurance challenges, taking on such things as the Transcontinental race, Coast of Ireland Cycle as well as Land’s End to John O’Groats incorporating the Three Peaks Challenge!

Setting off as a team of ten from Tenerife on December 1^st, 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.”

Foul weather troubled the boat for the first few weeks with Johnny experiencing “40-foot waves and big seas” with everyone spending the entire time soaked. “For the first three weeks we were never dry. You were either on the deck completely swept by the sea, or you were in the cabin with the door shut and sweating because it was 25 degrees with little in the way of ventilation.” Camaraderie was important for optimism on the boat, with a “good crew that got on well”.

After more days rowing and a new rudder fitted, Christmas soon came around with Johnny spending it drifting in the middle of the Atlantic. After some songs and a few small gifts shared, the crew had an opportunity for a swim before taking a much anticipated phone call from home.

Reuniting with family was a strong motivator for Johnny and helped him push through physical and psychological barriers towards the end of the trip as they approached Antigua. “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. People were really motivated. Knowing that our families were going to be there was just an incredible experience 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 from when we had a mother and 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 30^th 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: https://www.justgiving.com/page/johnny-rows-forth?utm_medium=fundraising&utm_content=page%2Fjohnny-rows-forth&utm_source=copyLink&utm_campaign=pfp-share