The story behind Munro's Mariners
From Phil

‘Munro's Mariners’ was born from the tragic death of my friend and colleague Neil "Mungo" Munro, who died on 13 March 2008.

Neil and I met in 2000 while competing in the ‘Three Peaks Challenge’ and worked together for several years in Bournemouth, where we remained good friends until his death in the spring of 2008.

His death had a profound effect upon me, to the extent that I felt the need to take steps to make something positive emerge from something almost incomprehensible. The idea was to undertake a challenge that he would have approved of and to raise money along the way for people who he himself would agreed were worthy beneficiaries.

The money raised from the challenge will go to three beneficiaries – all of which we firmly believe Neil would be most supportive of.

1. The Royal Marines – due to close local links and their outstanding efforts worldwide.

2. The neo-natal intensive care unit at Poole Hospital. The unit were close to Neil’s heart as they provided care to his son Jack when he was born.

3. The Dorset Police Benevolent Fund – which assists and supports widows of police officers.

The reason behind the choice of expedition was a desire to maximise the fund raising potential. I wanted to achieve something significant in his memory while raising as much money as possible.

The idea was discussed with the proposed team; this in its self was daunting not least because organisation of something on this scale was something I had never undertaken before.

My fears also included that look on peoples’ faces when you suggest something that is perceived as ridiculously stupid – a ‘you want us to do what?’ reaction! To my absolute delight the majority of the team I had hoped would be involved were instantly raring to go. The support team volunteers soon came flooding in and the team was almost complete.

I'm still searching for a ‘lynch pin team’ who will crew a safety boat at all times while we are on the mighty Gironde river and although the requirements are very specialised I have absolute belief that I will find a pair within the next twelve months willing to assist the paddlers and become part of the team.

The team itself is largely made up of serving Dorset Police officers – this includes the vital support team that will be breaking their backs looking after us via the bank and river alike. The expedition is, without doubt, a big ask of anyone and we are under no illusions regarding the scale of the event and the commitment required to complete the task safely and on time!

The paddling team are being assessed over the next twelve months at regular intervals by a British Canoe Union (BCU) coach, Steve O'Donoghue. He will be instructing the team so that they can reach the standard of BCU 4* (four start grading) along with extended periods of rescue and recovery tuition.

There is a lot to be organised over the coming months, not least the training and practise schedule! The team is using the old ethos ‘train hard , race easy and this means we are out in almost all weathers, night and day (more night than day at the moment) endeavouring to attain the skills through experience rather than luck during a test period.

All paddlers are paying for their own tuition, specific winter dry trading kit, glow sticks, and more. The cost to each individual member of the team, as well as the huge amount of time committed to training is extensive – especially as it’s all being done on rest days and leave – and to that end I wish to personally thank them for digging deep and demonstrating the level of commitment and selflessness that is rarely seen. The team is bonding well and getting stuck into cold evening paddles.

Thank you for taking the time to read about the challenge and our aims. We are grateful for any support we receive and you can visit other parts of this website to find out more about the good causes we are supporting. Here’s to a successful winter of training ahead!