This year will present me with my biggest challenge yet. I'm half of a two-man relay team intending to swim all the way around Manhattan Island, New York on 24 June. It's a formidable 28.5 miles, during which we must avoid shipping, landing sea planes, an armed guard around a prison barge and a massive water intake duct for the city's sewerage system.

It's my 57th birthday the day after the swim, so success would be a wonderful present.

I'm putting myself through this because my nephew has cystic fibrosis and I've seen the misery and heartache this debilitating disease brings to a family. He's one of the few who has been given a second chance, with a recent lung transplant. Most sufferers are not given that opportunity and die young.

To prevent this waste of young lives, the Cystic Fibrosis Trust needs money to fund further research. Please help by sponsoring my challenge. I'm funding the whole project personally, so every single penny raised will be given to trust.

If you're able to help, please make all cheques payable to the Cystic Fibrosis Trust and send to the address below. More details at www.nycswim.org.

Keith Rothwell
Chef-owner, The Bulls Head Inn, Castle Street, Beaumaris, Isle of Anglesey

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