Four friends from Plymouth are preparing to embark on a gruelling challenge to raise money for Derriford's lMustard Tree Centre. It’s one of two charities being supported by ‘The Mayflower Crew’ who aim to row across the Atlantic later this year.
A few years ago crew member Paul Adams Charity was treated at Derriford after a cancer diagnosis:
“After my brilliant treatment, I was in a bit of a mess to be honest and, mentally, I was broken but within a few minutes of walking into the Mustard Tree Centre I knew I was in the right place. They were magnificent and, after around six months of help and care, I am the man that I am now. I would recommend them to anyone. Now, I just want to give back and do something for them.”    
The Mayflower Crew will set off from the Canary Islands on December 12th for the 3000 mile voyage to the Caribbean. Not only will they face changing weather, tides and the full force of the ocean but also sleep deprivation, fatigue and maintaining self-care. The plan is to have two crew members rowing in two hours on, two hours off shift pattern for more than a month.
Crew member Dan Lewis said:
“We’ve been training hard but you can’t replicate that amount of continuous and relentless effort. We’re all very fit and I think we are all just keen now to get going. I just hope that after spending so long alone together on a very small boat, we’ll all still be speaking to one another by the time we finish!”
The crew are entirely self-funded and stress that ALL donations to them will go to their two charities, PHC’s Mustard Tree fund at Derriford and The Start Scheme in Bristol.
Miranda Benney, Mustard Tree Centre Manager said:
“We are in awe of The Mayflower Crew taking on such a huge physical and mental challenge to raise funds for the Mustard Tree. We rely on fundraising to provide group activities such as our Move More exercise programme, cold water therapy, costal walks and gardening groups. Keeping physically active after a cancer diagnosis aids recovery and management of symptoms, so this challenge is close to our ethos and will enable us to support more people affected by cancer.”
To find out more and support The Mayflower Crew log on to www.themayflower.co.uk 
Watch the video and see the boat…and the loo!