Having set aside 12 to 14 hours to row around Jersey, cycle around Guernsey and run around Herm, former Jersey Rugby player Mick Mayo (53) and Atlantic rower Rob Cassin (57) completed the three legs of the Jersey Hospice Beat the Daylight Challenge in a total of six hours and 54 minutes.
‘We really went for it and we absolutely smashed it, which was quite a feat for two old boys,’ Mr Mayo said.
‘It was a massive challenge and a major achievement for me and Rob and all for such a good cause.’
The challenge had been postponed from the previous weekend due to bad weather. A further postponement was avoided when Matthew Clarke stepped in at the last minute after the boat that was supposed to be accompanying them had to pull out.
It took the friends four hours and 54 minutes to row around Jersey starting from St Helier Harbour, On their arrival in Guernsey they were met by three local cyclists who, having heard about the challenge, turned up unannounced to act as pacemakers.
That part of the challenge was completed in one hour 26 minutes, then it was short boat ride to Herm where they took 36 minutes to run around the island.
‘The ideas that Islanders come up with to raise funds for Jersey Hospice Care never cease to amaze me,’ said Emelita Robbins, chief executive of the charity.
‘The Beat the Daylight Challenge sounds incredibly tough and we are hugely impressed and grateful to Mick and Rob for undertaking it. They have both been touched by the services provided by the charity and they are highly motivated to demonstrate their support with their fundraising efforts.’
Mr Mayo, who was also represented Jersey at football and is a past winner of the Sark to Jersey Rowing Race, thanked their support crew on the day and the Islanders who sponsored them.
‘We have raised just under £6,000 so far but we are expecting more money to come in,’ he said.
Mr Cassin is also a Sark to Jersey champion and a world-class rower.
‘This challenge is set apart from all the other challenges I have done in the past because it’s for Jersey Hospice Care, an amazing charity that has done so much for so many, including my mother Delphine,’ he said.
