From Starr To Starrfish

A moving account of one man’s quest to swim the channel despite overwhelming oddsPublished by Book Guild on 31 October£17.99, Hardback and e-bookHaving never swum in the sea before, 40-year-old Rob Starr decided that he wanted to train to swim the English Channel solo. The point of it was to raise money for the Starr Trust, the charity he’d set up in memory of his beloved father.This is one of the toughest challenges known to man with three times more people having climbed Mount Everest than have successfully swum the English Channel. For Rob, the challenge was compounded by the fact that he was suffering from rheumatism, osteoporosis and Crohn’s disease. When Rob learned he’d never be fit enough to swim solo it was a massive setback - but instead of giving up, he changed his plans and put together a relay team.Team Starrfish made the crossing, in the wind and rain, on 8th August 2012, in 12 hours 55 minutes, raising more than £75,000 for the Trust in the process.This is a truly inspiring story of resilience told by someone full of energy and charisma, and showing that sometimes with overwhelming odds stacked against you, you can come out on top.Rob Starr, 44, is chief executive of the Seico Group, which he started in 1989, aged 20, from a bedroom in his parents’ house. By 2007 the company had grown to over 30 staff in two locations and now handles insurance and mortgages for more than 15,000 individuals and companies around the world.Rob established the Edward Starr Charitable Trust in 2008, in honour of his father who died of cancer, aged 61, in 2006. He lives and was brought up in Hove, East Sussex and is currently involved in a bid with The Starr Trust to redevelop the leisure and community arts facilities for Brighton and Hove which would be known as The Lyrics. The Starr Trust’s 5th anniversary coincides with publication of From Starr to Starrfish and all royalties from the book will go to the Trust.Click here to buy the book from Amazon.co.uk