Brightons dad completes Clipper Round The World Race for late family and friends

Lee Callaghan (42) was a member of a GoToBermuda crew which took on the 7000-mile first leg of the Clipper Round The World Race.

Venturing from London to Punta Del Este in Uruguay, the dad-of-two described the five-week-long trip as “one of the best things I’ve done”.

There were, of course, tough times for the hitherto inexperienced sailor, who had little contact with wife Laura or children Jack and Sofia.

However, his efforts proved to be more than worthwhile as Lee has managed to raise north of £5000 for three charities.

He took on the gruelling challenge, which began on August 31, as a way of supporting a clutch of organisations to pay a personal tribute to four relatives and close friends.

Specifically, Lee’s trip was dedicated to: dad Jim, who died of prostate cancer in 2007; friend Simon Martin, who died after a short cancer battle last year; brother-in-law Stuart McGann, who passed away from a heart condition in 2011; and friend Ryan McGuckin, of Larbert, who died in a diving accident two years ago.

The proceeds of his remarkable charity mission, which he hopes will rise further still, will go to Cancer Research UK, the British Heart Foundation and the Barra Island RNLI Lifeboat volunteers.

Reflecting on the time he spent at sea, which coincidentally culminated on his 42nd birthday, Lee said: “It was relentless but fantastic!

“It’s one of the best things I’ve done but also one of the hardest.

“The race moved to Cape Town and arrived in Fremantle in Australia but I still feel part of the crew. I really enjoyed what I did.

“I knew it was going to be tough. A storm hit before we got to Uruguay and we had to dig deep and got through it.

“There was not much contact with family and friends. I had a satellite communications package to message home.

“That was one of the hardest parts but there was something quite refreshing about being disconnected from social media, even though it was tough not being able to pick up the phone.”

Despite Lee’s limited sailing experience — which extends to a few courses on the Firth of Forth 12 years ago — the renewable energy adviser felt a responsibility to motivate his fellow sailors, owing to his previous job as head of onshore operations with ScottishPower.

There were some days, however, when the only motivation required was staring the race participants in the face.

Lee explained: “Crew members were often fatigued or down and naturally my role is to get people up and performing.

“The highlight was swimming in the Atlantic Ocean at the equator.

“Our skipper did a ceremony as we crossed it and it was just a great day. There was a clear sky and the sea temperature was really nice.”

As well as his teammates, youngsters at Wallacestone Primary School have also benefitted from the time Lee spent at sea.

Following his return, teaching staff invited Lee to the Brightons school, where his son and daughter are P4 and P1 pupils respectively, to deliver a talk on his experiences and show the children just how waterproof his racing gear was.

To support Lee’s fundraising efforts, click here.