Nigel Fry, a general practice partner at Milsted Langdon, has successfully completed the St Margaret’s Hospice ‘Challenge of a Lifetime’.

The seven day charity yacht challenge saw the novice sailor tackle the notoriously choppy Celtic Sea as he travelled from Cork to Portsmouth in a bid to raise money for St Margaret’s Hospice.

After an eventful first night at sea crossing the Irish Sea with winds being recorded at gale force strength, a very tired crew was welcomed back to England by a visit from the Border Force just off the Lizard. Having determined nothing exotic had come from the Bahamas, and the crew were all British, they were quickly on their way.

So far, Nigel has raised £4,100 – far surpassing his original self-imposed target of £3,000 – for St. Margaret’s; a charity that provides specialist palliative care, advice, support and respite to patients and their families living in Somerset and parts of neighbouring counties. This year, St. Margaret’s will be marking its 35th anniversary of caring for local people with terminal or life-limiting illnesses such as cancer, motor neurone disease and chronic lung disease by providing physical, emotional, social and spiritual care to patients and their families.

The Challenge of a Lifetime was broken down into eight legs and Nigel participated in the final one. The journey started last October with sailors leaving Portsmouth for Falmouth in Cornwall, before venturing to the Canaries, Barbados, Antigua, the Bahamas, the Azores, and Cork. This final leg involved a 342 nautical mile trek to Gunwharf Quays Marina in Portsmouth.

Nigel commented: “I’m proud to have been able to raise a lot of money for a cause that is close to my heart. At times, the journey was difficult but it is an experience that I will never forget and I am extremely grateful for all of the generous donations that have been flooding in for St. Margaret’s.”

If you would like to make a donation, you can through Nigel’s JustGiving page at: www.justgiving.com/Nigel-Fry2/.