Event dates: –
Iain McDonald is raising money for Fulham Reach Boat Club and The Osborne Trust
Hello! I'm Iain, and I've spent the last decade rowing up and down the Thames in sleek, well-behaved boats, on (mostly) calm, predictable water. So naturally, I've decided to row 250km across the North Sea.
This June, I'll be part of a four-person crew — two men, two women — crossing from Burnham-on-Crouch in Essex to Hook of Holland in the Netherlands in an ocean rowing boat. Me and my crewmates are novices. The North Sea is not the Thames. What could possibly go wrong?
In all seriousness, this is a genuine challenge. Ocean rowing is a world away from the calm river rowing I know — unpredictable weather, open water, and a boat that's built for survival rather than speed or comfort. We'll be rowing in shifts through the night, through whatever the North Sea decides to throw at us, over roughly 36 to 48 hours.
We're doing it for two incredible charities, and that's what's going to keep us pulling on those oars when it gets hard.
The Osborne Trust supports the children of parents going through cancer — from diagnosis, through treatment, bereavement and beyond. When a parent gets a cancer diagnosis, the whole family is affected, and children often fall through the gaps. The Osborne Trust makes sure they don't.
Fulham Reach Boat Club gives state school children free access to sport — opening up a world that's too often reserved for those with the right postcode or the right school crest on their blazer. They also run Boats Not Bars, a rehabilitation programme working with prisoners to rebuild their lives.
We'll be cold, tired, and probably a bit damp. But we'll be rowing for children who deserve better opportunities, and for families facing one of life's hardest journeys.
Every pound counts. Please give whatever you can - and if you want to follow our progress on the water in June, watch this space!
Iain & the crew 🚣♂️🌊
Thank you for checking out my page. Making a donation is fast, easy and secure thanks to Give as you Live Donate. They'll take your donation and pass it onto Fulham Reach Boat Club and The Osborne Trust.
Thanks to everyone who's donated. We're now just days away from the start.
This weekend the whole crew were out on the boat for the first time, rowing on the River Crouch, getting used to the conditions (waves kindly donated by the RNLI), and practicing crew changeovers at sea.
The weather is currently looking favourable for the crossing and it's looking like a very early launch Friday morning.
Not long now, and thanks to everyone who has donated to the cause thus far!
Preparations are well underway -- I spent the weekend in Docklands getting in and out of life rafts. Hopefully something I won't ever have to do again -- and the whole crew are out in the Thames Estuary next weekend training. The early signs look like good, if slightly hot, weather for the crossing.
For those who are interested, this is Corsair, the boat we'll be call home for the adventure.
A huge thank you to everyone who has donated so far. It's truly appreciated.
To say thanks, here's a bad photoshop of our route.
Charity number: 1161813
Charity number: 1160073
Corporate Campaign
Run by Marine Pajot Coaching
19th June 2026 - 21st June 2026
By 39 supporters
+ £5.00 Gift Aid
Best of luck Iain!
+ £37.50 Gift Aid
Good luck with the big row.
+ £12.50 Gift Aid
I hope you catch the wind in your sails!! Oh no, wait a minute...
+ £12.50 Gift Aid
Row, row, row your boat! well done Iain!
+ £12.50 Gift Aid
Good luck Iain and team, fantastic effort and cause.
+ £6.25 Gift Aid
Nice, enjoy!
+ £12.50 Gift Aid
💪
+ £6.25 Gift Aid
Row well!
You better make it to the other side :)
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