Charity fundraiser Wayne Ingram has passed the halfway point of his liferaft survival challenge but admits that it has been a struggle
After four days living in a liferaft, charity fundraiser Wayne Ingram has admitted that he is struggling to cope with the arduous conditions.
The 45-year-old former soldier is spending the week afloat in Portland Marina to raise money for Great Ormond Street Hospital.
In order to replicate a shipwreck scenario as closely as possible, Wayne packed just 1.5 litres of water and three ration packs into his four-man Ocean Safety liferaft.
Following the launch of the liferaft on Monday afternoon, Wayne decided to forgo food and water for the first 24 hours.
On Tuesday he decided to stretch his fast out a little longer, but after a sleepless night he tucked into the first of his three ration packs on Wednesday afternoon.
Speaking in a YouTube update afterwards, he said: “It must admit, it’s a bit like the army days. It was nice, it was really tasty, but sometimes I’d have two of them for lunch.”
Wayne’s back-up plan for food is catching fish using an emergency survival fishing kit, but it took until Thursday morning for the first bite.
Drinking water is arguably the most pressing issue and with less than 500ml left in his supply, Wayne will be hoping to catch rain over the weekend, although dray weather is forecast until Sunday afternoon.
Wayne’s week in a liferaft has attracted plenty of support from both the media and the public alike. Famous well-wishers include the Duke of York, who was the head of Wayne’s old army regiment, and Steve Callahan, who survived for 76 days adrift in a liferaft in 1983.
The full story of Wayne’s full week in a liferaft will be published in an upcoming edition of Motor Boat & Yachting, and Wayne has pledged to donate his fee for the article to Great Ormond Street Hospital.
So far Wayne has raised more than £4,000, but he is still some way off his overall target of £20,000. For more information visit wayneingram.com or to donate go to: justgiving.com/wayne-ingram-fundraising
