I shared the Solent with my heroes!
A courageous charity fundraiser has spoken of his delight at sharing the waves with Olympic idols Shirley Robertson and Ben Ainslie.
Wayne Collett was diagnosed with terminal lung cancer in February last year and has spent the last 17 months making the most of every opportunity as well as raising money for Macmillan Cancer Support.
So the 50-year-old jumped at the chance to go aboard the Challenge Macmillan boat as 1,779 yachts took to the Solent for the annual Round the Island Race.
He said: 'I was asked to take part in the race and it was a fantastic opportunity – too good for me to pass up.
'I've always been around water living in Portsmouth but I've never done anything on this scale before.
'It was very hard work and there is a lot more to it than meets the eye.
'But I'm really pleased that I've done it and hopefully we will have raised lots of money.'
And while the likes of Dame Ellen MacArthur and triple Olympic champion Ben Ainslie were battling it out at the front, Wayne, of Highbury Grove, Cosham, maintained there were far more important issues at stake at the back of the field.
'It's been a very difficult time for me and my family in the last 17 months,' he added.
'But it's important to show that even though you have been diagnosed with this thing, life can still go on and you can still do all the things you've always wanted to.
'Competing in such a big event against Olympic athletes is a great feeling and I feel very privileged to have taken part.
'The race was a fantastic thing to be a part of but I really want to take it to the next level and sail around the world.
'It's been an ambition for a long time and something that I would love to do if I was lucky enough to be given the chance.'
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Weather for Portsmouth
Thursday 24 May 2012
Today
Sunny spells
Temperature: 15 C to 23 C
Wind Speed: 8 mph
Wind direction: South east
Tomorrow
Sunny
Temperature: 13 C to 25 C
Wind Speed: 24 mph
Wind direction: East
