Charity firemen set boat show alight with marathon stunt

Crowds gathered at the MIQ Logistics stand on the opening day of the Southampton Boat Show to see two fire fighters complete a marathon challenge.

The fire-fighting duo, John Haskell and Jamie Windsor, of South Wales Fire and Rescue Service, ran a marathon on a treadmill in full fire suits and apparatus to raise awareness and attract sponsorship for their forthcoming ‘Atlantic Dash’ Challenge.

For the expedition the pair will swap hoses for oars as they embark on a grueling 3000-mile journey across the Atlantic Ocean. Although unlike the boatshow marathon, they’ll be doing the whole thing naked to prevent chaffing, as Haskell explains: "The row will test us to the limit both physically and emotionally. We’ll be spending three months at sea, rowing 24 hours a day in two-hour shifts. We will have to undertake this challenge completely naked as any clothing combined with salt spray causes extreme chaffing and open sores.

"We are also expecting to encounter some pretty difficult conditions with waves of up to 40ft. It doesn’t sound like much fun but we are determined to complete the challenge and raise around £100,000 for some very good causes."

MIQ director, James Clark, said: "John and Jamie approached MIQ for help with their freight forwarding requirements, shipping their boat to Tenerife for the start and moving it back again, which we were more than happy to oblige. However we were so taken with the two guys and their incredible challenge that we wanted to help them further with their fund raising activities, so we invited them to come along to our stand at the Southampton Boat Show. The pair certainly raised a few eyebrows and we hope it will have desired effect. We wish them the very best of luck."

The expedition will start on December 4th with the team launching their boat from the island of Le Gomera (Canary Islands). John and Jamie are expected to cross the Atlantic Ocean in approximately three months, reaching the island of Barbados in Feb 2012.