Mark sails with Ellen MacArthur Trust

The Trust aims to inspire young people’s cancer recovery through sailing, and Mark took part in one of the Trust’s four day yacht adventures, along with 20 other young people all between the age of 8-17 years old, from across the UK, in recovery from cancer and leukaemia.

They took charge of four yachts around the Solent waters off the Isle of Wight last week, (9-12 July).

Mark was diagnosed in November 2009 with High Grade Glioma, and finished treatment at the Royal Belfast Hospital for Sick Children in February 2011. After the trip, Mark said: “My favourite part was the speed boat because they went faster than the other sailing boats, but they weren’t fast enough for me - I wanted them to go faster! I did some cooking on the boat, we had a salad competition and I won. I also got to steer the boat, I learnt a lot about sailing.”

The Ellen MacArthur Cancer Trust is a charity that supports young people aged between 8-24 who are recovering from cancer and other serious illnesses. Launched in 2003 by Dame Ellen MacArthur, the Trust’s main activity is taking young people on four-day sailing trips to help them rebuild their confidence, giving the young people a chance to test themselves in a safe and supportive environment. Each young person has the challenge to help sail the yachts, and are encouraged to work as a team by getting involved in everything from helming the boat to cooking.

The four day sailing trip set sail from Cowes on the Isle of Wight on July 9th, with the young people spending three nights sleeping on board the boats. They spent the trip navigating the waters of the Solent, which took them to various stopover ports, giving the young people the opportunity to test their new skills on the water.

Dame Ellen commented, “These young people are truly amazing. They face experiences that no one should ever have to go through, and yet they do it with the biggest smile on their faces, they are truly inspiring”.

There are many ways you can support The Trust with your time, money or services. To help them to continue to provide support and encouragement to young people in recovery from cancer visit http://www.ellenmacarthurcancertrust.org