Heart patient kayaks 60 miles to support the hospital that treated him
2 September 2013
What initially started out as an idea voiced over a pint in the pub became a real life adventure when Martyn Askew, aged 55, from Woodseats managed to kayak a staggering 60 miles down the Caledonian Canal with a group of friends.
The canal cuts across the highlands of Scotland, through the Great Glen and four large lochs, including 22 miles across Loch Ness.
A four day trip up to Scotland was the first stage in the plan to enable Martyn to work out the potential route and places to stay overnight. After this excursion, the decision was made to forge ahead and to raise money for Sheffield Hospitals Charity and support other local heart patients being treated at the Northern General Hospital. After he was diagnosed with a life-threatening aneurysm, Martyn underwent major heart surgery to replace a heart valve in August 2010 and was keen to do something to thank the doctors and nurses who helped him.
Invitations were then sent out to family and friends. Fifteen names were put forward and that was whittled down to a final 12, which included both experienced and novice kayakers aged between 20 to 60 years old.
Practice sessions were arranged at Rother Valley Park, along with a weekend on the river Thames and a visit to the Tees Barrage White Water Centre, to be taught rescue techniques.
The launch day arrived and 12 people set off in favourable weather conditions, in six sea kayaks, with a canoe to carry all of the camping equipment. Unfortunately, this soon changed to rain and high winds with gusts of up to 30 mph. As they got nearer to their destination, the water became very choppy and one of the team capsized. Everyone was quick to react and used the skills picked up in their training to rescue him.
At this point four people in the party decided not to carry on and only eight people were left to complete the journey.
Recalling the voyage, Martyn said: “The most picturesque stage was looking over the snow-capped peaks of Ben Nevis and surrounding hills in the sunshine, but the weather did constantly change from bad to worse, to beautiful and back to awful! It was certainly an adventure and not for the faint hearted, but definitely exhilarating. We all also felt a superb sense of achievement in terms of completing our goal and raising funds for Sheffield Hospitals Charity.”
The 60 mile trip took a total of five days, including covering 18 miles in one agonising day and some wild camping. Over £600 has been raised so far and will be used to help other patients with heart conditions.
