Sailor circumnavigates all 262 islands around England and Wales
Ken Fowler has completed his 1,300 mile challenge
Last updated 9th Jun 2023
A sailor from Dorset has successfully circumnavigated all 262 islands around England and Wales.
Ken Fowler from Mudeford began the 1,300 mile challenge in 2019 in a sailing dinghy named Yoda.
Having raised more than ÂŁ66,000 for Cancer Research UK and Oakhaven Hospice Trust, the 57-year-old undertook his final voyage: a 13-hour, 70-mile sail around the Isle of Wight finishing at his home in Mudeford.
Mr Fowler, a father-of-two, told the PA news agency: "Yesterday I launched about 5:15am and landed about 6:45pm and that was my 262nd and last island - so that's every island in England and Wales sailed.
"It's been an amazing adventure, I've met some wonderful people who have been so supportive, I've seen incredible wildlife - having dolphins riding on the bow of your little dinghy, I've sailed past a walrus in the Scilly Isles, I've had puffins around me - and I've seen some of the most amazing scenery."
"It's been fantastic, and being in the busy country we live in, being out on the water in these places is very, very quiet and very magical and wonderful.
"Equally, I'm really relieved it's over. It's been nearly a four-year challenge to get it all done. It's been a brilliant fundraiser."
Mr Fowler raised money for two charities close to his heart: Cancer Research and Oakhaven Hospice Trust in Lymington after he said cancer has "completely devastated" his family.
"My dad died of cancer when I was only 24 and he was one of six siblings - five of them died of cancer," he said.
"It's completely devastated my family. My mother-in-law died from it as well.
"I had a picture of her and of my father in the boat and they travel with me everywhere and they were inspirations to keep me going.
"That's why we set out to do it, to raise a lot of money for charity, and it's been just incredible."