Hoping to raise £100,000 for Teenage Cancer Trust

(Team Dorabros: James, Charlie, Lirim, Rufus)

Three men from Ealing and another from Jersey will be spending Christmas Day rowing the Atlantic Ocean in memory of two young people they knew who died of cancer.

Londoners James Deehan, Lirim Gula, and Charlie Crane, who are all 25, will be joined by Rufus Scholefield (26), from Jersey, for the gruelling 3,000-mile Talisker Whisky Atlantic Challenge, which starts on 12 December.

Rufus lost his close friend Harry to a rare form of brain cancer in February.  While James, Lirim and Charlie met at school, and were inspired to support the charity after watching Andre, a pupil at their school, struggle with treatment.  Sadly Andre also died. 

The ‘Dorabros’ crew will fly out to the Canary Islands on 1 December to make their final preparations ahead of the race start on 12 December.  They are expected to be at sea for at least a month, taking it in turns to row 24-hours a day, over Christmas and into the New Year.

This is not the team’s first challenge for Teenage Cancer Trust. In April, they tackled the Marathon des Sables – an ultra-marathon of 251km across the Sahara desert – followed by a cycle from Monaco to London in May and more recently a relay swim across the Channel that transformed into a relay in Dover Harbour due to poor weather conditions.

Speaking for Dorabros, James Deehan said:  “To at best lose one's childhood, and at worst lose one's life, is a reality for many young people and they may never have the opportunity to run the Sahara, swim the Channel or row the Atlantic. We want to take them across with us, allow them to do these things - we're rowing for them, those who can't.”

James adds: “It does promise to be a very unique Christmas, that's for sure. Spending it away from family and being battered by waves relentlessly while our loved ones are tucking into pigs in blankets and unwrapping new socks will be very unusual. However, we are very fortunate that my mum has promised to cook Christmas dinner for the whole team and luckily, her cooking is so dry that it should last all the way until Christmas without any further preservation!”

Liz Tait, Director of Fundraising at Teenage Cancer Trust, said, “Our specialist nurses and youth support teams work so hard to keep Christmas special for young people. They make sure that those well enough can spend Christmas Day at home with loved ones, and spread festive cheer for the many others who will be staying on Teenage Cancer Trust’s specialist units this year.  But none of this could happen without the incredible support of people like James, Lirim, Charlie and Rufus, and we can’t thank them enough.”

The four men are hoping to raise £100,000 for the charity Teenage Cancer Trust.

To find out more about the challenge and sponsor the Dorabros team visit their web site.

27 November 2019