RESCUE MISSIONS, dolphins and breakdowns couldn’t stop a Fambridge Sailing instructor from completing his tour around the country.

Colin Stracey, 60, who runs First Class Sailing out of Fambridge Yacht Haven in North Fambridge, has completed his journey around Britain in aid of Macmillan Cancer Support.

Colin and his team arrived back in North Fambridge on Saturday after almost three months at sea.

Starting on May 2, they sailed from North Fambridge to Newcastle, around Scotland, down to Bristol, onto Cornwall, and then returned to North Fambridge.

The journey came about as a way of raising money for Macmillan Cancer Support.

Colin decided he wanted to raise money for the charity after they provided his son, James, with the support he needed during treatment.

He said: “Our son was very ill and when he was, he was one of those unfortunate people on zero hour’s contracts.

“His illness, and the treatment and chemotherapy he was receiving, meant he was unable to work for two years.

“During that time the support from Macmillan was a huge help and we wanted to give something back.”

Colin set himself a target of raising £5,000 for the charity, but managed to surpass that, so far raising almost £6,000.

It wasn’t all plain sailing for the team however.

“We got stuck in the Scottish canal,” explained Colin.

“There were times you think that you might not make it, but we were very fortunate to have a spare motor on board and people who knew how to fix it.”

Not only did their own mechanical failures slow them down, but so did other people’s.

Colin and his team were put on standby duty by local lifeboat stations on multiple occasions.

“We had to stand by while a couple of boats put in May Day calls. We would have to wait while the lifeboat arrived and if they hadn’t done so in time, we would have had to go in ourselves to try and rescue them.

“Thankfully it didn’t come to that and everyone came out fine.”

There were positives on the journey as well. Including a spot of wildlife watching that lifted everyone’s spirits.

“The dolphins were the highlight of the trip for everybody,” said Colin.

“We were all ecstatic to see them.

“We saw a couple early on near Whitby, but when we reached the Bristol Channel there were hundreds of them. It was brilliant.”

“There were times when you think, ‘What have I done?’, but overall I would definitely do this again.”

To donate to Colin visit, www.sailformacmillan.com.