Adventurer Frank sailing towards £1m for Alzheimer’s Research UK

GREENFIELD mariner Frank Rothwell is poised to become Saddleworth’s latest seven-figure fundraising champion.

Five days after Kevin Sinfield completed his 7 in 7 marathon challenge outside the Farrars at Grasscroft, 70-year-old Frank embarks on an arguably even more herculean task – rowing 3,000 miles alone across the Atlantic.

Frank wants to raise £1 million for Alzheimer’s Research UK. Prior to casting off from La Gomera in the Canary Island on Saturday, December 12 at the start of the Talisker Whiskey Atlantic Challenge, he had raised more than £410,000.

With Iceland Food Charitable Foundation match funding his total, the adventure-seeking pensioner had almost hit his target before setting off on an expected 60 to 70 day crossing to Antigua.

Asked what it was that prompted Saddleworthians to put their bodies on the line for others, Frank smiled: “It must be something in the Saddleworth air. After all, we are higher up
than most people.

“I was sat here in the sun the other day and my wife Judith was telling me it had snowed back home.

“But we have some fantastic, genuine, hard-working people in Saddleworth who get involved.”

Prior to leaving, the owner of Manchester Cabins held an online question and answer session hosted by former Yorkshire and England cricket captain Michael Vaughan.

Frank, who has been given the number one for his boat, has previously been a contestant on reality show ‘The Island with Bear Grylls’.

Asked why he was rowing across the world’s second largest ocean basin he replied: “After the Island, I hadn’t found anything difficult enough to challenge myself. It was all too namby-pamby.

“Purely by chance, I came across this opportunity and to do it solo.

“One night I was having a couple of pints with Judith in Uppermill. We met our daughter Susan and all her mates and this girl starts telling me about her mate who is doing this.

“Once I found out about it, that was it. I researched it, I couldn’t sleep thinking about it and now here I am.”

Asked if he was nervous, Manchester City fan Frank responded: “I came across here on the ferry from Tenerife.

“It’s only 20 miles but the ferry started rolling. I couldn’t see the horizon because it was pitch black.

“I suddenly thought ‘I am rowing out into this. A shiver went down my back and I thought ‘Is this a really good idea?’

“And because it is a little boat, the whales and sharks come and have a look at you! If a whale lands on your boat, it could flip it over.

“Besides, if you shout you want to get off, they leave you a couple of days to make sure you really want to get off!

Frank has been rowing around 35 miles in training but helped by the prevailing winds he hopes to achieve a daily coverage of 50 miles.

Ideally, he wants to be in the West Indies for a Valentine’s Day reunion with Judith.
And he’s also hopes to have smashed his £1 million target.

“When you realise you have got it, that’s going to be your best day,” he said of a dementia diagnosis.

“But it’s not just raising money; it is raising people’s awareness. Like what Kevin Sinfield has done, he has raised awareness for motor neurone disease.

“If I can do the same for Alzheimer’s Research then that’s why I am doing this. The charity is more important than the personal achievement. Hopefully, I can make a difference.”

To track Frank’s progress download an app via www.ybtracking.com

To donate go to: www.justgiving.com/fundraising/frankrothwell