Swimming to France is jelly difficult
We know the industry loves a charity challenge, but swimming the Channel is especially going the distance.
That was a feat recently accomplished by Savills development consultant Hannah Noble and a trio of friends.
The swim, given the name To France and Bach – a play on the initials of swimmers Ben Reardon, Adam Acland, Caroline Muggridge and Noble, saw the team front stroke from Dover to Calais and back as a relay, for charity.
It was a “horrendous” undertaking, admitted Noble, 30, who had, among other things, jellyfish to contend with.
“They were unbelievable,” she said. “You couldn’t see them until it was too late and so you had to swim straight through them; it felt like you’d rolled through a bush of stinging nettles.”
Sea sickness also reared its ugly head, but Noble pushed on, a comment from a friend five years ago that she would never swim the Channel ringing loud in her head.
“That was like a red flag to a bull ?for me,” said Noble, a lifelong swimmer who had already swum from Dover to Calais before, in a relay in 2010 and ?solo in 2011.
With clearance from the Channel swimming authorities, the team set off at 8.30pm on Sunday 21 July, swimming through the night with only the moon for company. Daylight was far more agreeable, revealing a variety of sea life and ferries carrying passengers taking a drier route across the Channel.
Noble’s father, former Cluttons partner Ian Noble, was in an accompanying boat for support.
The group completed the challenge in 28 hours and 15 minutes, arriving back in Dover in the wee hours on Tuesday 23 July.
“We were all so surprised at how much tougher than expected it was. But we did it and I am completely and utterly proud of us all. It was an absolute team effort,” Noble said.
You can still ?donate money ?for Noble’s efforts ?at http://uk.virginmoneygiving.com/HannahSwim2013
Pedal power counts on Moors tour
Yorkshire was the breeding ground for many of Team GB’s best athletes at the London Olympics. A difficult charity ?cycle dubbed “Tour de Yorkshire” ?may have unearthed a few more, ?however late.
The 21 cyclists from Sanderson Weatherall rallied to take part in a gruelling ride from York Minster across the Moors and back.
It was during the most challenging part of the ride, the Chimney Bank in Rosedale, one of the steepest roads in Britain, where athleticism prevailed.
Company partner Adam Burkinshaw said: “We endeavour to get as many staff out on their bikes every year, raising cash and awareness for some great causes. This year we all safely completed this challenging route in near tropical temperatures, but it was a great experience with many kind public donations en route,” he said.
The team completed the 200-mile feat within two days, raising more than £4,500 for Breakthrough Breast Cancer and the Yorkshire Air Ambulance.
‘Crazy’ but not lazy
They call themselves the “Crazy Ones” – and rightly so. Jonathan Ketteridge and Malcolm Stuart, of the eponymous property consultancies, have completed an ambitious physical test that combined two popular challenges, and not a rest in between.
The pair, plus friend Amanda Mortimer, cycled the length of the UK mainland and climbed its three highest peaks – Scafell Pike, Ben Nevis and Snowden – within 12 days.
They raised £5,000-plus for a number of charities including Lionheart, which supports RICS members and their families. Readers can donate to Lionheart at www.lionheart.org.uk
Matterhorn’s magnificent seven
Property stalwart John Woodman is going to lead a team on “the most difficult climb an ordinary person can do”, to the top of the Matterhorn in Switzerland.
The seven adventurers are expected to have to pick through rock and ice to make the 4,478m summit, spending two days climbing to the top and back, with a night in a hut on the mountain face.
Woodman, managing partner at Malcom Hollis, will be accompanied by friends and colleagues Malcolm Le May, Tim Wheeler, Dr Will Hellier, Andrew Bentley, Tim Dunger, and Kevin Bespolka, as well as professional guides.
The team hopes to raise £150,000 in aid of breast cancer charity The Haven Wessex, and are well on their way, with the tally now at £115,000.
Woodman said: “It will be a steep and long climb requiring considerable stamina and the terrain is very exposed. However, our chances of success will also depend on our own individual fitness and long hours in the gym are beginning to pay dividends.”
The team has trained for months to be in peak physical condition for the climb this month, including climbing walls and vertical ropes, as well as scaling Ben Nevis twice in one day.
To donate, go to www.justgiving.com/matterhornchallenge
Morgan footie stars rain supreme
A heavy early downpour at Linton Village College in Cambridgeshire did little to dampen the spirits of the 200 commercial property professionals who gathered for the Wrenbridge World Cup five-a-side football tournament.
A total of 27 teams took part, made up of agents, investors, contractors and architects who work with Wrenbridge.
Morgan Sindall took this year’s crown, beating Glenny in the final and making it two years running that the winner came from a construction background, following on from last year’s winner ISG.
The event, sponsored by Estates Gazette, is now in its seventh year. Wrenbridge chief executive Ben Coles said: “It is getting more popular every year – this was the biggest one we have hosted yet.”
This year’s event has so far raised £3,500 for former LaSalle Investment Management worker Amanda Scott’s fundraising efforts for Macmillan ?Cancer Support. To donate, visit ?www.justgiving.com/amandascottfunride
Life’s a beach in Warsaw
Poland’s property family descended on a makeshift beach at Warsaw’s La Playa Music Bar for a beach volleyball tournament.
The fourth annual event attracted some 700 real estate professionals and their families, playing and watching as companies went head-to-head at the nets.
The event attracted global and local property companies, including Blackstone, BNP Paribas Real Estate, CBRE, Colliers, Cushman & Wakefield, SEGRO and Savills. Polish construction company Warbud won, with Jones Lang LaSalle coming second and MLP Group third.
Tomasz Trzóslo, managing director, Jones Lang LaSalle Poland, said: “This was a memorable event and it just gets bigger and bigger every year.”
More than £32,000 was raised for the Our Children Foundation, which supports an oncology unit in the Children’s Memorial Health Institute in Warsaw.
