The Sir Tristram is an amphibious car devised by Peter Martin and crewed by Carl McConkey, Rick Miles and Mark Farrell. What was once a mere Renault Laguna is now much more and has been renamed Sir Tristram after the RFA ship which served with such distinction in the Falklands War. Fitted with an outboard motor, lots of foam and a bilge pump it just took on a mammoth task – navigating the treacherous waters of the Irish Sea in winter. She faced strong currents, big waves and nasty tidal streams but Sir T was up to the task have no doubt! Sir T and the crew will be brought back aboard the HSS Stenaline that night hopefully as conquering heroes!
This is the third voyage of Sir Tris, previously she had been out on a ‘Sea Trial’ and then on a 7 mile trip down the coast from Bangor to the Copeland Islands – which in itself was a real challenge. “Nearly everyone on shore thought we wouldn’t make it but confidence rides high on the boat – at one point some of the crew even got in a little fishing off the stern!”
The whole concept revolves round raising money for the charity ‘Help For Heroes’ [for injured British service personnel coming back from Afghanistan]. The project is cross community and has involved a wide range of people from different backgrounds. The crew of Sir Tris have been collecting sponsorship from supporters and now they have a justgiving account at www.justgiving.co.uk/sirtristram
