A 25-year-old that was diagnosed with a form of leukaemia so rare that it did not have a name has set off on a sailing trip around Britain.

Olly Rofix was only the third person in the world to have his disease, which he ‘thought was pretty cool until (he) found out the other two were dead’.

After a bone marrow transplant, he recovered and decided to sail around the UK to raise money for the Anthony Nolan Trust and inspire other cancer sufferers.

He locked out of St Katherine’s Dock yesterday in his Valiant 18, Jolly Olly, to begin his voyage, before mooring just off Gravesend YC last night for his first stop.

Olly, from Woodbridge, Suffolk, said: ‘Raising awareness and getting more people onto the (stem cell donors) register is crucial, but I also want to inspire other people who are ill or who have been ill.

‘I want to show them that they might be ill now, but they can go on to do great things.’

To learn more about his voyage visit www.olivers-travels.co.uk.

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