A TEAM of lecturers at a Hampshire college are taking part in a gruelling canoe race in memory of a former student who perished at sea.

James Male, who lived in Romsey, was a crew member of the Cheeki Rafiki which capsized in the North Atlantic this May with the loss of all four men on board.

Their yacht, which was returning to Southampton from Antigua, was lost 1,000 nautical miles east of Cape Cod in America.

US Coastguards found the upturned hull and a life raft still on board but there was no trace of 22- year-old James and his three fellow seafarers, Paul Goslin and Steve Warren, both from Somerset, and Andrew Bridge, of Farnham in Surrey.

Now four lecturers at Sparsholt College, where James studied outdoor education after leaving school in 2008, are preparing to take on what’s been dubbed the toughest canoe race in the world and raise cash for the Royal National Lifeboat Institute’s Forever by the Sea Fund as a tribute to him.

They are Lawrence Blair, Scott Fancourt, Gareth Rogers and Kaj Berendsen, and all four are busy training for the 125-mile challenge from Devizes to Westminster next Easter.

Team captain Scott Fancourt said: “We wanted to show our support by giving something back and felt this gruelling challenge would be a fitting tribute to an adventurous young man with a passion for the outdoors, in particular water sports.

James’s father Graham said: “James would have loved to have done the challenge himself. He’d have been in his element.

He loved outdoor sports and did a BTec national diploma at Sparsholt College.

“We have been overwhelmed with the support we’ve had since we lost James. What they are doing at the college came out of the blue but I am pleased they are doing it.”

Graham and his wife Lorraine and the families of the other crew members set up the Cheeki Rafiki Forever by the Sea Fund in memory of all their loves ones.

It is aimed at raising funds for the RNLI and promoting the charity’s work, particularly crew safety, and having personal locator beacons on board all sailing vessels in case of incidents at sea.

So far around £8,000 has been donated to the Cheeki Rafiki fund.