Last week the question was posed – would walkers or sailors win a race from London to Brighton?
The answer was revealed at the weekend as a group of walkers and sailors went head-to-head in a charity race that helped raised thousands of pounds to fight cancer.
The epic Boot versus Boat race, in support of the Sail 4 Cancer charity, saw the sailing team race 140 miles down the east coast of Britain while the walkers trekked nearly 60 miles from the capital.
And thanks to favourable winds, the sailors triumphed after completing the London Bridge to Brighton Marina course in 19 hours – five hours quicker than expected.
The walkers weren’t shamed however, after completing the course 23 hours after they left London Bridge – one hour quicker than planned.
Graham Precey, chairman of Sail 4 Cancer and one of the sailing team, said: “Despite some challenging wind shifts and some pretty confused seas at times, the team on the boat did a fantastic job.
“Because we were able to keep the spinnaker up for most of the race, our 158 nautical-mile sail took just 19 hours and 12 minutes.
“Although we crossed the finish line first, the real winners of this challenge were the walkers. To walk 60 miles pretty much non-stop without sleep is an amazing feat and the lads should feel rightly proud of what they have achieved.”
The two teams have so far raised more than £8,000 for the charity, which provides water-based respite days and short-breaks for British families living with cancer.
The pot of money will fund respite services for between 80 and 100 people affected by the disease.
Graham added: “I have never seen such bad blisters and I have to say that despite several cases of sea-sickness on-board the yacht, we had it pretty easy by comparison.
“This is the first time a London to Brighton race between walkers and sailors has been attempted and we’re proud that Sail 4 Cancer did it first.”
Sail 4 Cancer is planning another Boot versus Boat challenge in summer 2014.
To join one of the teams, visit sail4cancer.org or call 0845 408 1849.
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