Ryde fire station’s Green Watch is to undertake a circumnavigation of the Island, entirely under their own manpower.
Setting out from the Hovercraft launch pad in Ryde at around 9am on Friday, July 22, they will travel in an anti-clockwise direction around the Island aiming to finish back at the launch pad at around 4pm on Sunday.
The team will attempt to cover around 20 miles per day, contending with sand, shingle, stones, rocks, mud and clay, resorting to swimming when walking is not an option.
The inspiration came from watch manager, Chas Wright, who is retiring next year and wanted to complete one last charity challenge before hanging up his fire boots. He decided to fund-raise for The Wight Brainy Bunch, a charity set up by his colleague, Mark Grimes, who was treated for a brain tumour in 2015 with a second bout of surgery in 2019. Mark will one of the team taking on the challenge.
Ryde firefighters are no strangers to weird, wacky and extreme charity challenges, having previously run in a human hamster wheel for 48 hours, carried a ladder all around the Island and, most recently, climbed a 10m-high tower non-stop for 24 hours – the equivalent of climbing Mount Everest eight times.
The event is being sponsored by local businesses and individuals, including Pittis Estate Agency, where Chas’ son is an employee. He will also join Green Watch for the three-day event. The sponsors will cover all expenses and ensure all funds raised goes directly to The Wight Brainy Bunch, so they can continue to support Island families affected by the devastating effects of brain tumours.
Any local businesses, who would also like to sponsor the event, can email the charity at info@thewightbrainybunch.org.uk.
You can donate at justgiving.com/fundraising/greenvswight or, by text, give £5 text the word GREEN to 70460. To donate more, simply add the amount, for example GREEN10 will donate £10. You can also donate directly through the charity’s website, thewightbrainybunch.org.uk/donate.