Mark Stevens joins the warm up of the world famous Transat Bakerly

by Emma Jackson on 28 Apr 2016 2016 Transat Bakerly - On the 23rd of April Mark Stevens, from South East London, took to the English Channel joining a fleet of 20 racing yachts as a guest sailor for the warm up leg of the Transat Bakerly, to represent the race's Official UK Race Charity, the Ellen MacArthur Cancer Trust.

The Ellen MacArthur Cancer Trust, which takes young people in recovery from cancer, aged between eight – twenty-four sailing to help them regain their confidence, selected Mark, who joined the Trust in 2009 in his recovery from Acute Lymphoblastic Leukaemia aged 21, to represent them in the warm up leg. He joined British skipper, Phil Sharp, on –board Imerys, a Class 40 yacht between St Malo and Plymouth.

Since his first trip with the Trust Mark's relationship with sailing has developed into a passion; he has gone on to become a Graduate Volunteer for the Trust and completed the famous Fastnet Race in 2013. Mark who now works as a Trading Operations Manager at J. P. Morgan expressed his thoughts on his latest challenge: 'It was a real privilege to be able to represent the Trust publicly as it is a cause so close to my heart. I feel extremely fortunate that they were able to give me the chance to represent them at such a fantastic event and benefit from a wonderful experience.'

Mark's skipper, experienced solo offshore sailor and former winner of the Route du Rhum, Phil Sharp, commented what a pleasure it was to have Mark aboard his newly christened boat, 'Imerys'. 'Mark was a really valuable asset to have on board and it was great to cross the channel with him – he wasn't just along for the ride, he got really involved with sailing Imerys. I hope he had an amazing experience.'

The Transat bakerly is the oldest solo professional yacht race and is one of the iconic events in world sailing. It was first staged in 1960 when a group of British sailors made a bet to see if they could sail across the north Atlantic single-handed. This year the organisers, OC Sport, have added a 'warm up leg' between St Malo and Plymouth on account of the large proportion of French sailors which has allowed guests, such as Mark to join the action.

The 2016 edition of The Transat bakerly will see 25 solo skippers in four classes – Ultimes, IMOCA 60s, Multi50s and Class40s – take on one of the great challenges in professional sailing. They face a 3,000-mile course complete with storm force headwinds, rough seas and freezing fog.

Mark commented on why the support of the Transat is so important to the Trust: 'I view the Trust as pivotal in the positive recovery of hundreds of young people who have suffered with cancer - as such it is only natural that the Trust should be supported by one of the most prestigious and famous events in the sailing world. With dozens of top sailors from many different countries and a huge media following, the Transat is a unique forum to raise awareness of the Trust and its work'.

The Trust takes young people between the ages of eight – twenty-four, in recover from cancer, on sailing trips around the UK to rebuild their confidence, developing long term relationships through the Return to Sail and their Volunteering programs. To date it has enabled over 1,500 young people to take part in these trips. The Trust receives no government funding and therefore relies entirely on voluntary donations to provide sailing trips free of charge to the young people.

Visit the Trust at the start of The Transat bakerly in the official Race Village at Plymouth (open from April 29th to May 2nd), where there will be a 'Get Your Kit On' competition with a chance to win prizes.

To help bring about a real difference, by supporting the Trust in working with even more young people, please visit website.