Hassocks man prepares to paddleboard across the English Channel in memory of ten-year-old daughter

The Children’s Cancer and Leukaemia Group (CCLG) have announced that Jamie BartlettBundy, 48, is taking on the tough 26.5 nautical-mile challenge in memory of his daughter Pearl.

Pearl passed away in 2017 at the age of 10 after a battle with Ewing sarcoma.

Jamie is aiming to raise funds for #PearlPower, a Special Named Fund at Children’s Cancer and Leukaemia Group (CCLG), which was set up by him and his wife Rachel. Visit specialnamedfunds.cclg.org.uk/pearlpower.

He said: “I can’t wait, even though I know it’s going to be backbreaking, especially going the long-distance without a break and nowhere to stop for lunch, and you’ve just got to keep going.”

Jamie, who will turn 50 before embarking on the voyage, said he is nervous but excited, adding: “It’s Pearl that keeps me going. I can just keep going all going all day, compared to what she went through.”

Last October Jamie and his brother John Bartlett, 55, took on the ‘Paddle4Pearl’ challenge from Bowling Harbour on Scotland’s west coast to Edinburgh on the east coast. The 100km paddleboard challenge raised £2,500.

Jamie said: “Not many people have paddled across and that’s why me and my brother thought it would be a great challenge.”

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CCLG said John is set to join Jamie on the English Channel challenge as well, adding that the pair aim to raise more than £10,000.

But Jamie added: “We need to get a corporate sponsor to cover the cost of the support vehicle, which you have to do it because it’s a busy channel and have to be guided across. I’ve been in contact with a company, who are very good, very safe, you book a week’s window, and the idea is that you go out on a perfect day – it’s dependent on the tide, weather conditions, wind, all those things. So, you need an expert, and to also negotiate the busiest sea route in the world. With the cost of that, as well as the special seafaring boards, we will need is £4250.”

To help Jamie with his support vehicle sponsorship email [email protected] or contact him on Instagram at www.instagram.com/paddle4pearl. People will be able to follow Jamie and John's progress on social media too.

Jamie and Rachel set up #PearlPower to help fund research into kinder and more effective treatments for childhood cancer with poor outcomes. Jamie said: “There’s not enough awareness of just how brutal treatment is for children. We need more funding to save their lives and just to make their journey easier. It’s important for me to highlight that these kids need support, and more money, for more research.”

To date they have raised more than £100,000 with events like Hassocks Goes Gold, which takes place every September. Visit www.facebook.com/groups/hassocksgoesgold to find out more. People can sponsor a trail of Giant Gold Bows on a route running through the village and there are art displays, competitions, stalls and a Golden Gala.