I have rowed 500 miles and I will sail 500 more, says Tintanic captain Major Mick

Army veteran “Major Mick” Stanley has rowed his final journey in his homemade Tintanic rowing boat, having sailed 500 miles and raised more than £90,000 for charity.

Michael Stanley first started rowing in his small boat, made of corrugated iron, five years ago along the Chichester Canal.

Since then, the 85-year-old from Chichester, West Sussex, has rowed on rivers and lakes up and down the UK, crossed the Solent, met the King and heads of government and even rowed on the Seine in Paris.

For his final journey, a small crowd of supporters came to see Mr Stanley set off in the second iteration of his tin boat from The Hard at Itchenor for the hour-long row to Chichester Yacht Club at Birdham.

But Mr Stanley is not hanging up his sailing cap – which is emblazoned with the title “Captain of the Tintanic” – quite yet as he plans to build a new boat, Tintanic III, this time a sailing boat to continue his fundraising efforts.

Michael Stanley, known as ‘Major Mick’ (Andrew Matthews/PA)PA Wire/PA Images - Andrew Matthews

He said: “I am very satisfied, I have had a really good time in the last five years and it seemed a good point to stop now I have reached 500 miles in the boat.

“There have been so many highlights, I think crossing the Solent, going to Paris, meeting the King, the Prime Minister, it’s been fun and exciting.

“Over the winter I’m going to build another boat, this time it will be 24 inches longer than my present boat and will have a sail I hope, my ambition is to sail from Calais to Dover. But that’s a pipedream, first of all I will have to see if the boat floats.

“The motivation is enjoying being out in the water and definitely meeting people is the fun part.”

He added: “I still feel fit and while I feel fit I want to continue doing active things.

“My daughter calls me eccentric but that’s alright with me, I could be called worse things than that.”

On choosing to build a sailing boat, he said he hoped to sail 500 more miles “if I live that long”.

Michael Stanley alongside his homemade ‘Tintanic’ rowing boat (Andrew Matthews/PA)PA Wire/PA Images - Andrew Matthews

He added: “At the age of 85 I feel I need a bit of comfort, and rowing is quite energetic so I thought I would turn my hand to something else.”

After arriving at the yacht club to a salute by a group of rowers and round of applause from his supporters, Mr Stanley poured out some water that had leaked in using an old tin can.

He said jokingly: “Now you’re all hoping I fall in.”

He added: “I am relieved that I didn’t fall in and it was nice to see so many people to welcome me home. I am a little bit sad but looking forward to next year when I build a sailing boat.”

His son, Robin Stanley, 51, said: “I am really proud of everything he has accomplished.

“He’s a builder of things and he likes meeting new people and having new adventures – but this is the first of his eccentric projects that have caught national media attention.

“He’s a bit of a Wallace (and Gromit) character, but he shows you can do great things at any age, he’s a lesson for us all.”

Mr Stanley dedicated his last rowing journey to raise funds for St Wilfrid’s Hospice having previously supported Alzheimers Research UK, and Children on the Edge – a charity that helped children in Ukraine.