Last Saturday 4th August two determined men arrived at Brentford, after rowing there… from Birmingham.

I first found out about these guys last Wednesday when I noticed them arrive at Marsworth junction near Tring. As their boat was labelled ‘Rowing the Union’ for Cancer Research I was intrigued and went to find out more.

Tom Graham from Hayes and Dale Whittaker from Iver set off last Saturday 28th to row the whole of the Grand Union, passing 166 locks on the way. Each night they pitched a tent near the canal. On the second day they got a hole in their boat but still managed to keep up with their schedule and reach their destination. The journey is 137 miles and they braved whatever the weather threw at them along the way.

On Saturday night they held a charity disco and raffle at Ruislip Golf Club to raise further funds and celebrate their achievement.

There’s more pictures and news from their journey on their Facebook page www.facebook.com/rowingtheunion.2012

They hope to raise more than £4,000 for Cancer Research. Visit Dale and Tom’s Just Giving page to donate.

When I told Phil (owner of Boatshed Grand Union) about this story it reminded him of when his son in law did something very similar, raising money for MacMillan Cancer Support. Mike and his brother Chris paddled the Grand Union in a canoe. He wrote the story here Grand Union Sponsors Paddle Aid World Record Attempt. Boatshed is also working on an initiative to support Sail4Cancer, a specialist respite provider. Sail 4 Cancer funds day trips and short-breaks for British families affected by cancer - the majority of which are linked to the water.

Peggy Melmoth
www.narrowboatwife.com

You may also like:
Living on a Boat: The Boatshed Guide (free ebook) / Who Works on the Waterways in 2012? / Canal Diary 2012 / A slideshow of our boat of the moment. / Blog Archive

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