Challenge Archives - East Cheshire Hospice

Update on Heather Broadbent’s Around the World Challenge

Posted on 14th August 201914th August 2019 by Amy Chatwood

Round-the-world sailor Heather Broadbent is preparing to embark on her epic voyage on Sunday (Sept 1).

Heather will spend 11 months at sea competing in the Clipper 2019-20 Round the World Yacht Race which starts at St Katherine Docks in London.

The landscape gardener, from Disley, will be on board the 70-foot ocean racing yacht GoToBermuda for her trip-of-a-lifetime.

Heather is hoping to raise £40,000 for East Cheshire Hospice where her late husband Adam (45) was a patient. Adam died of cancer in 2013.

Heather has already raised £22,750, a total boosted by £6,500 after her adventure was featured on the regional BBC 1 programme North West Tonight.

The funds will go towards supporting the charity’s Hospice @ Home service which has treated 626 patients since it began in October 2017.

Heather, who has two grown up daughters, said: “I’m so excited and can’t wait for the race to start. I’ve completed all my training and if anyone can sponsor me, they’ll be supporting a marvellous cause. My aim is to raise a pound for every mile of the 40,000-mile journey.

“I’ve already met half our crew, and everyone has been absolutely wonderful. We’ve all got the same mindset but we realise that spending so long together at sea in a confined space will be a challenge.

“I’m looking forward to visiting every port, especially Bermuda which sounds like a fabulous island.”

Heather has been appointed team co-ordinator, supervising a rota so that no-one is on duty for more than 12 hours during a 24-hour period.

Heather said: “It’s a huge honour and quite a task making sure everyone is in the right place at the right time with the correct kit.”

To help her, she will test a new Dell Latitude Rugged laptop supplied by the computer company so she can also send back pictures, vlogs and blogs.

Heather Broadbent will be travelling light at sea.

Each crew member has a 15-kilogram weight allowance, set by their team, for individual cubby holes.

Heather said: “We’re allowed to carry less weight than someone would probably take for a weekend away, but as you can imagine there’s little room on board.

“I’m taking three changes of clothing but no luxuries, so I’ll leave behind my face cream.

“I’ll have my own sleeping bag but won’t have my own bunk bed. There could be 22 people on board at any one time and due to the watch system we ‘hot-bunk.'”

Racing on board the 70 ft racing yacht GoToBermuda, Heather is one of only two women among her eight-strong amateur crew undertaking a full circumnavigation of the globe under the guidance of a professional skipper and mate.

Other crew members will join the GoToBermuda team for different legs of the journey as they compete against 10 other crews.

The fleet will call at ports in Portugal, Uruguay, South Africa, Australia, China, the Philippines, Panama, the USA (Seattle and New York), Bermuda and Derry-Londonderry, Northern Ireland, before crossing the finishing line in London 11 months later.

* To sponsor Heather and read her blogs visit eastcheshirehospice.org/heather

Training for Nepal!

Posted on 8th August 20198th August 2019 by Amy Chatwood

Tackling Tegg’s Nose on a summer’s evening is one thing, but navigating Nepal in November is a completely different prospect.

But that is the challenge facing Sarah Dale and Louise Delany who must combine preparations for a Himalayan trek with jobs at East Cheshire Hospice as well as running families.

Both volunteered for the once-in-a-lifetime adventure which involves two days working on a hospice project in Kathmandu followed by an arduous five-day trek along the Ghorepani Poon Hill trail.

There they will enjoy stunning views of the Annapurna mountain range staying in tea-houses and lodges. Temperatures will range from 25C to -5 at night.

Sarah and Louise are part of a nine-strong group from East Cheshire Hospice, each pledging to raise at least £3,500 for the charity which undertook a Grand Canyon trek last year.

Sarah, who is Clinical Director at the Hospice, said: “I’m petrified and the more I think about it the worse it gets, but it’ll be an amazing challenge.

“I don’t really like flying, I’ll miss my kids and husband and I’m not good with bugs or getting cold. The chance to see how palliative care works in a different country motivated me initially and I’d happily spend all the time at the hospice out there, but that’s not the idea.

“I thought we’d be meandering through villages but each day there are tough walks with a 3,500 metre climb.”

Sarah and Louise are walking through Macclesfield Forest, or climbing Tegg’s Nose, four times a week as preparation.

Louise, the Hospice’s Commercial Manager, said: ” I don’t think I’ve done any challenge before so we’re both out of our comfort zone. We want to be fit enough so our experience is a good one and we don’t suffer.

“Working full time five days a week, plus family commitments and the practice walks is time-consuming and at the same time we’re trying to fundraise.

“Sarah is from the clinical side and I’m from admin and we’re glad we’re supporting each other. Our aim is to raise £7,500 which is how much it costs to run the Hospice for a day.”

The pair are grateful for the support of the Broken Cross Club which is hosting a bingo afternoon on Sunday, Sept 15, and a race night on Friday, Oct 4.

* To sponsor them go to justgiving.com/fundraising/sarah-dale32 and justgiving.com/fundraising/louise-delany.

Heather Broadbent, Update

Posted on 26th March 2019 by Amy Chatwood

It is a good job Heather Broadbent likes meeting new friends.

She will soon be introduced to a group of strangers with whom she will spend almost a year sailing around the world.

For the moment the identity of her fellow crew members in the Clipper 2019-20 Round the World Yacht Race remains a closely-guarded secret.

Heather, a landscape gardener from Disley, is raring to go on her daring adventure aboard a 70-foot ocean racing yacht.

Incredibly, she has already raised £10,000 for East Cheshire Hospice which cared for her late husband Adam (45) who died of cancer in 2013.

It is a quarter of the way towards her fundraising target, aiming to raise one pound for each of the 40,000 nautical miles travelled on her epic voyage, starting in August.

Mum-of-two Heather said: “I can’t wait to get going and am excited about going to sea, especially after undergoing a lot of training.

“A major challenge will be spending 11 months in the same confined area with complete strangers.

“Living in tight conditions will be as much of a test as the actual sailing and the next milestone in the countdown is when the crews are allocated on May 11.”

The UK departure port has also be to announced, along with several stops on a route via South America, South Africa, Australia, China and the USA.

Heather is sure life on the ocean wave will have more far more ups than downs. The 11-strong fleet each has a professional skipper and mate supervising amateur crews of up to 20 per boat.

Heather is one of several sailors tackling all eight legs.

She added: “I’ve had extra training, including a week on a sailing course in Gibraltar, to gain more experience and background knowledge. I wanted to be as prepared as I can be for this extreme adventure.”

Proceeds will go to the charity’s Hospice @ Home service. Supporters are invited to a preview of Heather’s trip at Pinches Medical Centre in Macclesfield on May 16.

* To support Heather and read her blogs go to eastcheshirehospice.org/heather.

Amelie’s Run

Posted on 26th March 201926th March 2019 by Amy Chatwood

Eight-year-old Amelie Axford will be putting her best foot forward to get her fundraising journey off to a great start next month.

Amelie will be dedicating part of her family holiday in Cumbria to tackle a short but tough and hilly two-mile run in aid of East Cheshire Hospice.

The run, at Centre Parcs, was Amelie’s idea after she and her fellow pupils at Mossley Primary School in Congleton took part on the Snowman Sprint before Christmas. The sprint gave Amelie the idea to help the Macclesfield charity further and with mum, Kate and dad, Jamie, both keen runners, the sports-mad schoolgirl decided a sponsored run would be her next step.

“She was watching a video online about young people and social giving and was determined to do something for the Hospice,” says mum, Kate.

“I’m so delighted she’s taking her own initiative to raise funds for the Hospice which impacts on a lot of people in our community,” says Kate. “My mum’s best friend, Jennifer Boulton, spent some time there before she passed away so it’s a place that is important to so many and it’s wonderful to think that Amelie recognises this too.”

And Amelie says: “It’s a fantastic cause”.

The Run Amelie Run fundraising page is here: www.justgiving.com/fundraising/amelie-axford1

Heather Broadbent’s Around the World Challenge

Posted on 23rd January 201922nd March 2019 by ECH Admin

Landscape gardener Heather Broadbent is preparing for her ultimate adventure – sailing round the world!

The mum of two is taking to the high seas as one of the crew of a 70-foot ocean racing yacht in the Clipper 2019-20 Round the World Yacht Race.

Heather will travel 40,000 nautical miles on her epic 11-month voyage from August.

The route from England takes her via South America, South Africa, Australia, China and the USA.

Heather is raising funds for East Cheshire Hospice and hopes to raise one pound for every miletravelled.

Heather, from Disley, is supporting the Hospice after it cared for her late husband Adam (45) who died of cancer in 2013.

Heather said: “The Clipper Race is for amateurs and I’m a sailing novice. I’ve been into boats all my life but nothing like this, I’ve loved every minute out on the water since I started my formal training, although I did get horrible seasickness one night when I was disoriented.”

“I was 50 last April and realised it was my time for an adventure. It’s the most dangerous, exciting and terrifying thing I’ll have done and I’m quite nervous.”

“At first I was considering doing only one of the eight legs, just the one across the Atlantic but then decided to sign up for all of it. The hardest part will be being away from family but my two daughters are now grown up and they are both very supportive.”

“My dad Bob is a charter skipper in the Isle of Man taking wildlife and bird-watching trips and after spending his life on the water he’s looking forward to hearing about my adventure.”

Heather is trying to raise £40,000 specifically for the charity’s popular Hospice @ Home service that was set up in 2017.

Heather said: “Hospice @ Home wasn’t around when Adam was a patient at the Hospice and this amazing service would have been an enormous help caring for him. I want to raise awareness and any sponsors will be directly helping the Hospice.”

Heather and her friends have already raised £100,000 for the Hospice and The Christie from themed events.

* To read Heather’s blogs and support her go to eastcheshirehospice.org/heather.