Novice rower dad raises £110,000 to fund Crohn's and Colitis research for 9-year-old son as Atlantic

Fergus deals with his condition incredibly well, despite getting frustrated, he takes his pain on and never complains. He's a fighter and I'm taking on the Atlantic Challenge to highlight the daily challenges faced by people with Crohn's and Colitis. These can be tough conditions to live with, and while I am going to be up against the Atlantic elements for one month in February, Fergus has a life-time of Crohn's challenges ahead of him. We want to help by tracking down the elusive cure.

Before this, Dad had never rowed. But next month, he will be in an open rowing boat with only the bottom of the boat to sleep on for 2 hrs at a time. He is amazing, very brave and we are all incredibly proud of him.

Inflammatory bowel disease (IBD), the collective term for Crohn's disease and Ulcerative Colitis, affects more than 250,000 people in the UK alone and most of the new cases diagnosed in 2014 will be young people or children like Fergus. The diseases are too prevalent and are still poorly understood.

We are immensely grateful to James, his wife Fiona and all their four boys who are determined to boost funding to help find a cure for Crohn's by supporting Crohn's & Colitis UK research projects.

Over the last few years, Crohn's & Colitis UK has provided over £4 million of research into Crohn's disease and Colitis and we are committed to finding a cure. Until that happens our research needs to cover not only the search for causes and better treatments for the physical aspect of Ulcerative Colitis and Crohn's Disease, but also the social and psychological impact of the illnesses on patients and their families.

We wish James and his crew all success in their amazing endeavour and look forward to them landing safely in Barbados in mid-March with a new World Record under their belts.