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Fields of icebergs laid waste to Andrew Morris's ambitious Olympic Atlantic Row - a voyage from Canada to London with veteran ocean rower Roz Savage, due to arrive back in time for the 2012 Olympic Games.
Morris's plan B - to row non-stop from Bristol to London, via the inland waterways - was then beset by the torrential rain of a British summer, as R&R's Peter Crush discovered for himself in July.
However, despite a catalogue of disappointments and obstacles, Morris arrived in London on 23 July, having raised £2000 for charity.
The money was donated to The Rowing Foundation, who facilitated the fundraising efforts of the Olympic Atlantic Row (OAR) and were responsible for determining where the money should be invested.

The Foundation decided that Penryn Rowing Club should be the beneficiaries of Morris's donation, and the £2000 has since purchased a brand new flashboat for the Cornish club - enabling more young rowers to train and race.
Penryn's Philippa Starkey said, "We are so thankful to [Andrew] and the OAR team for their amazing rowing efforts, and for choosing us to receive such a wonderful donation towards a new flashboat.

"We are already taking steps to try and gain more junior members by posting flyers around the local community and are in talks with the local college to arrange a regular event or after-school club. Now that we have a much more up-to-date and comfortable boat, we hope that this will help to encourage youngsters to join the club and stay with the sport."

For Morris the donation brings a sweet end to a difficult summer, which has seen years of planning shattered by the elements.

He said, "It's amazing how, in this Olympic year, people across the country have been inspired by a new kind of role model and are seeking to take up sport as a result.
"I hope that we, too, have played some small part in helping young people get out on the water and broaden their horizons. Our thanks also go to The Rowing Foundation, who facilitated the OAR's fundraising efforts and selected Penryn Rowing Club as a deserving club amongst many seeking to encourage more young people to take up their oars."

This article was first published in the Rowing & Regatta, the official magazine of British Rowing.

Photograph www.philstarkeyphotography.co.uk

The Lord Mayor’s Appeal 2012 will help five charities, the primary being Barts and The London Charity on behalf of the Trauma Unit at The Royal London Hospital. The Rowing Foundation, London Youth Rowing, Fields in Trust and Futures for Kids will also benefit, creating a healthier future for all.

Lord Mayor David Wootton’s chosen appeal theme ‘Fit for the Future’ aims to promote better health opportunities for all, including those from some of the UK’s most deprived areas such as Tower Hamlets where shockingly 50% of local children live in poverty and where infant mortality is double the national average.

2012 will see the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee as well as the London Olympics and Paralympics so it’s an ideal time to make sure that we are all ‘Fit for the Future’. The money raised through the appeal will touch the lives of many by helping to improve trauma care, helping to relieve poverty and hardship and by giving young people from deprived areas new sporting opportunities.

To find out more and get involved please visit www.lordmayorsappeal.org