Never Leave a Man Behind

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Steve Grenham and Steve 'Sparky' Sparkes are both former Royal Marines who had been badly let down by the system put in place to support veterans struggling with physical and mental health issues. Fellow former Royal Marine Mick Dawson felt an ocean adventure could help both men. He was right, but he had no idea how life-changing those ocean adventures would become - for all three of them.Mick tells the stories of not one, but two epic ocean adventures: in the first, in an attempt to help Steve Grenham overcome the debilitating impact of post-traumatic stress disorder, he kayaks with him around East Falkland, where both men had served during the 1982 war with Argentina. In the second, he partners Sparky, also a Falklands veteran as he set out to become the first blind man to row the Pacific Ocean, in a 2, 500-mile rowing race from Monterey in California to Waikiki in Hawaii. Steve Grenham had never kayaked before, Sparky is not only blind, he was also a rowing novice.Sparky and Mick had hoped to break the fifty-six-day record for a two-man rowing boat reaching Hawaii from California. This would also earn Sparky a place in the Guinness Book of World Records as the first blind person to row the Pacific. It was never going to be easy but they had no idea just how hard it would become as the Pacific Ocean conspired against them every step of the way, ultimately threatening their very survival let alone the successful completion of their voyage.These are very moving stories, well told, of remarkable men, helping each other to achieve seemingly impossible goals. They are also stories which create a timely reminder of the ongoing support society owes to it's service personnel dealing with physical and mental health issues.