Ludos Sailing Challenge Round the Coast of Great Britain
by Sue Hardwick 11 Jul 2012 09:19 BST
12 July 2012
Having faced the inclement British summer, 21 year old Ludo Bennett-Jones will be greeted by former International yachtswoman Dame Ellen MacArthur as he completes what he hopes will be a record breaking voyage around the British Isles raising funds for Comic Relief and the Ellen MacArthur Cancer Trust. We expect his arrival at the East Cowes Marina, Isle of Wight, on Thursday 12th July.
21 year old Ludo Bennett- Jones, son of Peter Bennett-Jones (Chairman of Comic Relief), set sail from East Cowes on Saturday 28th April for his 2,500 mile circumnavigation of the coastline of Great Britain. Sailing in a two handed 16ft Wayfarer dinghy sponsored by BT, Ludo will be the youngest and fastest to have completed this unique challenge when he arrives back into East Cowes where he began his journey 76 days ago. Ludo has been raising funds for the Ellen MacArthur Cancer Trust and Sport Relief, charities supported by BT. Of the target £100,000, £35,000 has been raised so far.
An accomplished sailor, Ludo has demonstrated enormous determination and great skill to complete his task in what can only be described as some of the worst weather conditions Britain has experienced in recent years. He has followed in the footsteps of esteemed yachtswoman Dame Ellen MacArthur who’s first voyage was also a circumnavigation of the Britain, aged just 19.
Traversing the Bristol Channel, one of the UK’s busiest shipping lanes, rounding Cape Wrath, one of the most unpredictable corners of the Scottish Isles and visiting all four UK countries in four consecutive days in May (possibly another first in a dinghy) are just some of the extraordinary highlights from his journey, with several different crew members to help him complete his challenge.
His exploits and experiences have been well documented in Ludo’s blog which can be found on the www.loveludo.com website, his latest instalment to his high sea adventures being rescued by the RNLI when his rudder broke just days ahead of his finish.