Shropshire businessman Rob Hancocks’ dreams of putting himself to the ultimate speed and endurance test in a bid to raise money for Hope House children’s hospices seemed shattered….

He is one of the organisers of the 2010 Great British Rib Rally, a 12-day boating challenge that circumnavigates mainland Great Britain and Ireland.

But despite all the odds, he has now successfully completed the event.

After a massive effort by a number of people, against the weather and the odds, the RIB was trailored back to the Wahoo Factory and the team worked through the weekend to repair our damaged boat.

We knew it would be a mammoth task to catch up with the main rally which was travelling south from Newcastle to Ipswich, and we covered around 195 nautical miles averaging 32.5knots per hour for the trip, arriving to cheers from the other crews as we pulled into the marina.

The next morning didn’t start so well, with difficulties over fuel which caused unbelievable delays, so we didn’t actually get out of the marina until late in the evening.

This meant we had to dodge the wakes of unseen ships and follow distant lights. We passed a whale and numerous seals, and for the last hour and a half we were in total darkness.

We arrived at Ramsgate to find the town closed down for the night. We tried to get some sleep despite the noise of trawlers leaving, and we eventually set off again at 4.30am, arriving in Brighton to another round of cheers from the other crews and a large breakfast!

Then we all set off together for the final time.

The last leg was Brighton to Portland with a muster point some 15 miles off Portland so that we could all enter Portland as one group .

For Cool Running it was a hollow victory. We didn’t get round Ireland and Scotland, but we did finish, and we have been nominated as the crew who put in the greatest effort away from the legs to get back in!

We covered over 1,200 miles, and had some great times alongside a lot of frustration at things directly outside our control. I’ve learnt an awful lot about weather, wind, night sailing and people handling.

To my wife, thank you for all your support, guidance and counsel; to my crew, well done excellent effort; to my friends and supporters, thanks again for your continued and generous support; and to my still good friends Wayne and David, we did it, let’s get ready for the next one, it’s going to be large!