Racing to beat mito - The Lily Foundation
The Lily Foundation logo featuring a butterfly, hearts and an 'x' for a kiss

Fighting mito,
finding hope.

Racing to beat mito

Personal stories

3 October 2017

Congratulations to our daring duo Jon Milne and Sailor Swift, who have made a great start to their circumnavigation of the globe in aid of Lily Foundation. Jon and his teddy bear sidekick, who are sailing in the Clipper Round The World yacht race to raise awareness about mitochondrial disease, have already raised over £1000 on the first leg of their voyage.

A man in a red waterproof sits holding a teddy bear with the ocean behind him

Having a Lily bear as a mascot has played out well for Jon and his GREAT Britain crewmates so far. The GB boat finished third in the race from Liverpool to Punta del Este in Uruguay, and currently tops the leaderboard on points. On the 33-day, 6,200-mile voyage Jon endured tropical heat, seasickness and long periods without sleep, all combined with the extreme physical demands of long-distance ocean racing.

His furry companion has meanwhile been making waves on Twitter, gaining over 300 followers including fans in Australia, USA and Uruguay. Do you know anyone on the Clipper Race route who would like to take Sailor out sightseeing while he's in port? Check out the Clipper Round The World website for a list of host ports and let us know if you can help.

This Wednesday (October 4) the Clipper fleet will depart for Cape Town on the next leg of the race. Tune into Sailor's Twitter feed @SailorSwiftBear for updates, and if you'd like to support Jon's incredible effort you can donate here.