Magnificent seven take on epic Channel Challenge

Openreach Marketing Director Rob Lee faces many channel challenges daily, spending his time between the communications channel, the marketing channel and the sales channel. But his  biggest channel challenge came on a bright October day in Dover, as Rob explains...

Accompanied by my son, my future son-in-law, three work colleagues and a cox, we set off in an epic attempt to row the English Channel, all in aid of the fantastic AHOY charity.

The magnificent seven set off for the far away beaches of Calais, buoyed by the sunshine, enthused by the challenge and absolutely knackered from the 45-minute kerfuffle of dragging a traditional 19th Century Thames Cutter down a shingle slope to launch into the waves.

Our motto throughout the three months of training had always been: “How hard can it be?” We had 10 sessions planned on the Thames, the last three being 22-mile rows and some sea training around the Isle of Sheppey.

Needless to say, on the day we braved the channel, we had all done just 5 or 6 sessions on the Thames, our longest training run had been 11 miles and we’d got nowhere near the sea. How hard can it be?

"I thought you were in charge of the oars!"

It was bloody hard... over five hours of agony.  Our plan had been to cover 11 miles quickly, getting past half-way to eliminate the chance to turn around and come back. Sadly we rowed for over two hours, yet I could still see the registration of my car parked on the Dover seafront.

My wife and other family members crossed on the Ferry. They steamed past us cheering encouragement, waving flags, rushing to get to the beach in Calais to greet us. Sadly that was the last we saw of them until we returned to Kent.

Braving 6 ft waves, and some of the biggest tankers and cargo ships I have ever seen at such close quarters, we battled on. The first two hours were full of good humour and banter, the next hour was silent, the fourth and fifth hours became a bit like tired children snapping at each other, how hard can it be?

However, we did it and although we were far too shattered to enjoy the achievement that night, the following days allowed us the luxury of boring every person we met with “I rowed the Channel, you know”, and here I am telling all our customers.

So, I learned a few lessons: training is important, launching from a jetty is important, and never ever doing anything like this again is mandatory.

The Ahoy charity is brilliant, they help vulnerable and disadvantaged kids experience the pleasure of sailing, rowing and – critically – working as a team. We raised nearly £40k, and if you fancy throwing a few quid their way, you can still donate here.