The continuing success of Rye sea cadets has left them with the problem of not having enough boats for all of their cadets. When the unit meets on Monday and Friday, the cadets are having to share the “Trinity” rowing boat with half of the cadets going first and then having to swap for the second part of the evening. The staff and management team are very keen to get the maximum boating hours for all of the cadets and therefore are raising funds to purchase another Trinity boat for the Unit.
When the Unit laid down the challenge of raising funds for the new boat, James Sheppard (one of the Cadet’s parents) came up with the idea of an extreme boating challenge to raise the required funds and so the Three Loch Challenge was born.
The Three Loch Challenge is based on the concept of the Three Peak Challenge with the three lochs having to be paddled within 24 hours. The Lochs are the three longest in Scotland – Loch Awe (41km), Loch Lomond (39km) and Loch Ness (37km) – totalling 117 km (or over 72 miles). The exact timings of how long it will all take is unknown, but will certainly be an extreme endurance test. At least one loch will be paddled at night which brings its own challenges of navigating 20 miles of fairly open water with little or no light.
The event is planned for the weekend of August 1. The aim is to raise £2,000 for the purchase of another boat. Come along to the Sea Sunday event this weekend, meet the Cadets and support their fundraising efforts.
Photo: Rye Sea Cadets