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Published:
January 28, 2008
Arctic
explorers begin training alongside Burnham hovercraft crews
 Two
Arctic explorers who hope to be the first to travel to the North
Pole in a hovercraft have this week begun training alongside the
crew of Burnham-On-Sea's rescue hovercrafts.
Simon
Marshall, from Wembdon near Bridgwater, and London-based friend
Alex Henney will be attempting a 500-mile expedition to the pole
in a custom-made hovercraft similar to Burnham's life-saving Spirit
Of Lelaina craft.
With this in mind, the duo have begun training alongside BARB
crewmembers in preparation for their Arctic expedition in May
2009.
In
return, they will donate the proceeds of the sponsorship of their
trip to BARB to help it meet its £30,000 annual running
costs.
 During
the first training session, Simon and Alex were shown around BARB's
two hovercrafts and took part in a training flight along the coastline.
BARB
Chairman Mark Newman said: "We were delighted to be approached
by Simon and Alex and hope we can do all we can to help them with
their expedition."
"Not
only will they help to raise funds for BARB, but our crews will
also benefit from the experience of working with them."
Both
Simon and Alex have a great deal of experience in trekking in
the Arctic. Mr Marshall has over ten years' experience, having
been the base camp manager during the 1996 Ultimate Challenge
expedition, which gave novices the opportunity to experience polar
travel. And Mr Henney was a member of Team Polar Horizon, which
took part in the 2007 Polar Race, a 350-mile race to the Magnetic
North Pole.
Burnham-On-Sea
Hovercraft Web site
Hovercraft To The Pole Web site
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