M/Y Gene Machine Cycles for Charity

Capt. Fraser Gow and the crew of M/Y Gene Machine are on a roll. Not only did they rescue and tow S/Y Minerva of Kip after they lost their mast while crossing the Atlantic, but M/Y Gene Machine was already on track to make their own crossing a spectacular success by participating in a transatlantic cycle challenge to raise money for charity.

The vessel intends to raise money and awareness for The Heart Research Institute and Ducks & Drakes Cancer Trust, causes important to several members on the crew.

According to Gene Machine’s Virgin Moneygiving event page, the challenge is for the crew to cycle the exact distance that M/Y Gene Machine will be covering on her transatlantic voyage from Holland via Gibraltar to St. Maarten — which they have calculated as 4,736 nautical miles (8,771 kilometers) in 17 days. This works out to 516 kilometers per day or 21.5 kilometers per hour for every one of the 12 crewmembers. (Note that the above rescue has cause a deviation in the vessel’s original route, but they have pledged to cycle the full distance to St. Maarten.) As of Thursday, December 8, they had 908 nautical miles left to cycle.

The crew is collecting donations through Virgin Moneygiving, with the amount to be evenly split between The Heart Research Institute and Ducks & Drakes Cancer Trust charities. The goal is to raise £2 per kilometer cycled.

Want to help? Check out their page and dig deep: uk.virginmoneygiving.com/GeneMachine