Eighty-year-old Major Mick Stanley launched his homemade boat ‘Tintanic II’ on to the lake at Blenheim Palace on Wednesday as he continued his bid to row 100 miles around the country.

Major Mick, from West Wittering, is a retired Army Major who served in the Royal Scots Dragoon Guards for 35 years.

In December 2020 in lockdown, he completed a challenge by rowing at 2mph twice a week in his homemade boat Tintanic, which he constructed from two sheets of corrugated iron, up and down the Chichester canal for 100 miles.

He raised over £44,000 for his local hospice in Bosham in West Sussex before selling the boat for £480 for charity.

This year he has taken to the water again, with a new and improved boat Tintanic II, and has begun raising money for Alzheimer's Research UK.

This time he is travelling with his boat to canals, rivers and open water from the south of England to the Scottish Highlands.

He said: "Blenheim was absolutely beautiful. Everybody knew who I was and I was taken to the lake to launch. There was ducks flying around, it was magical."

Major Mick launched at Henley on May 28 for his second challenge and headed to Beaulieu River on June 7.

He has since rowed at locations including the Kyle of Sutherland and the Falkirk Wheel in Scotland.

His final row will be into the Chichester Canal Basin next Wednesday.

He estimates he will have covered over 200 miles in the past year and will raise over £60,000.

He has visited more than 25 locations in England, Wales and Scotland for his current adventure.

Mr Stanley said his new boat is proving itself up to the challenge.

He said: “The old boat used to leak a lot, up to two pints an hour, so the redesign has been great. It's made of recycled bits and pieces from the garage and the foreshore."

"It's not especially comfortable," he added. "I have a cushion off the old dog's bed and that makes it much more comfortable."

"It's been a lot of fun. I feel like a schoolboy who's having fun with his toys."