Yacht skipper and Virgin Media Business Sales Director, Ian Hoddle, along with his co-skipper, Ollie Wyatt, are competing in the gruelling Sevenstar Round Britain & Ireland race to raise funds on behalf of Virgin Media’s charity partner Scope.
Competing in the Virgin Media Business sponsored yacht – Game On – their fundraising target is to turn the 1805 nautical miles of the race into £18,050 for Scope, with the help of Virgin Media Business employees who are actively supporting the challenge.
Ian Hoddle, Virgin Media Business Sales Director, said: “My objectives are clear; I am determined to beat my previous race time achieved in 2014 of exactly 12 days, win the doublehanded class and achieve our fantastic fundraising total for Scope.
“Having faced waves bigger than houses in the 2014 race, I know the race will challenge Ollie and I both mentally and physically. Raising money for Scope, a charity that provides support to disabled people who face challenges every day, will inspire us not to give up when things get really tough.”
The quadrennial race, which is the equivalent of three ‘Fastnets’, started from Cowes on the Isle of Wight on August 12th. One of the most challenging offshore races in the Royal Ocean Racing Club calendar, the clockwise course includes wild Atlantic Ocean sailing up the west coast of Ireland and Scotland, rounding the remote Shetland Islands, and then navigating the maritime traffic hazards including oil and gas rigs, wind farms and shipping lanes in the North Sea, before finishing back in Cowes.