While playing soccer, second officer Ollie Ford got hit where no man wants to be hit. When the pain hadn’t gone away several days later, he decided to get checked out. It’s a good thing he did — at a hospital in Malta, doctors told him he had testicular cancer in November 2024. If it hadn’t been for the pain, the crew member from yacht support vessel U-81 might not have known until it was too late.
Now Ollie and friends are giving something back. They’re raising money for Mount Vernon Cancer Centre, the Greater London facility where he’s been treated. To do that, friends and family, including other U-81 crew, are running 20,000 kilometers (12,427 miles) and raising £1 for every kilometer, all organized through fitness app Strava. And they’re trying to raise awareness of the disease that is the most common type of cancer in men aged 20 to 35. Testicular cancer is treatable, but it must be detected. They’re encouraging men to do self-checks for early detection, or, to use the phrase they’ve coined, “check your buoys.”
“The idea came about because we realized that there isn’t much awareness for cancer in yachting. For most people on board it was a complete shock as it’s kind of unheard of, so we wanted to channel this experience into something positive and give back to the hospital,” says Charley Keep, Ollie’s friend who helped run things while Ollie underwent treatment. “The U-81 crew wanted to help as much as they could so they started the Strava group aiming to reach 20,000 kilometers by the end of Ollie’s treatment.
“Our overall aim is to spread as much awareness to other yachts as possible (on) the importance of checking your body. We understand it’s difficult when you’re on board to keep up with health checks, but you really don’t know what’s going on inside your body.”
After surgery, Ollie completed chemotherapy treatment on March 14 and hopes to get back to work soon. As of March 31, he shared that he has gone into remission.
“The yachting community has been amazing; we can’t thank everyone’s generosity enough,” Charley says. “Ollie’s previous yachts have done amazing fundraisers such as a crew auction, raising well over €1,000 for the cause.” Follow them on Instagram: @checkyourbuoys