Cockle Shell Heroes complete their objective

A group of ex-servicemen, with the help of Ultra Sport and Bic Kayaks, have battled the elements to retrace the journey undertaken by a group of marines whose objective was to destroy German shipping in WWII.

The original mission, Operation Frankton, involved launching kayaks from a submarine to get in close to the ships at Bordeaux and was used as the basis for the 1955 film, The Cockleshell Heroes.

The current crop of Cockle Shell Heroes have retraced the path of the original group of marines to raise money for both the RNLI and Help For Heroes and Ultra Sport provided all of the kayaks and seagoing equipment they required for the trip. This involved paddling the original 70 mile stretch down the river followed by a further 20 miles to the extraction point, where they swapped kayaks for bikes and cycled the 100 mile route that the surviving marines took on their escape, known as the Frankton Trail, as a relay.

Having completed the journey, the team said: “The event went really well, the Bic kayaks performed brilliantly and have done so throughout. They were described as a river-fishing or touring kayak but they are much, much more than that!! We have used them in open water and in rough conditions with a swell height of around 5 feet and a sea height of around three feet and they’ve proven to be extremely stable, just what we needed. They have taken a few knocks along the way but again they have proven extremely robust with no major repair work needing to be undertaken. They are a great bit of kit!!”

Now that the challenge is complete, the team will be auctioning off the Bic Kayaks that they used, and the money will go towards the two charities. Details of this will be announced shortly.

Help For Heroes was set up to help the wounded service personnel returning from Iraq and Afghanistan. They are a non-political organisation and, in their words, ‘just want to help’. More information can be found at www.helpforheroes.org.uk

The RNLI is the charity that saves lives at sea. They get no help from the Government, relying completely on independent funding and a large group of volunteers to maintain a search and rescue service 24 hours a day. You can find out more by going to www.rnli.org.uk

If you’d like to know more about the event you can visit: www.helpforheroes.org.uk/cockleshell_heroes.html or
www.farehamsfrankton.com/Home.aspx

Or for more information on Bic Kayaks and other Ultra Sport products, head over to www.ultrasporteu.com

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