North London man sets sail across the Atlantic for charity

Most of us go out for dinner to celebrate a landmark birthday. Not Marc Sidney. He decided to mark his approaching 60th with a personal challenge – a sail across the North Atlantic with an eight-person crew to raise money for charity.

“Some may call it the peak of a mid life crisis; I see it as the optimal test of my mental and physical strength,” he said

Property manager Marc, who lives in Whetstone, is no stranger to physical fitness challenges – he has done sumo wrestling, power lifting and coal running in the past. He and the team flew out to Canada last week and will be crossing from St John’s to Cowes on the Isle of Wight – a 1900 nautical mile sale across 11 days. They will see no land en route and with 25+ knots speed and minimal sleep (two hours on, two hours off) this is a true test of endurance.

Marc’s wife Angie said: “I miss him but I will admit it’s been quite nice having the bed to myself during the hot weather! I can’t contact him while he’s out at sea but there’s a tracking device on the ship so as long as I can see the little red dot moving I’m not too worried. I’ll be very glad when he reaches dry land, though.”

Marc is sailing to raise funds for North London Hospice and Cherry Lodge Cancer Care. Click here to donate