After a determined and unremitting fight against lung cancer, Nick Baker sadly died on Saturday morning, 17th May 2008. He was and always had been a ‘non-smoker’.

Click here to read Matthew Dryden's memorial service address.

Nick founded the AquaLung Trust in 2005, sailing singlehandedly across the Atlantic to raise monies for four specific charities. With this Atlantic crossing and the support of family, friends and colleagues organising a range of other activities the Trust has raised just under half a million pounds.

These efforts have enabled the following:

Merlin purchased an ambulance in Liberia and built and opened a new clinic in Darfur which sees 200 people a day, six days a week. In 2005 twenty winterised tents were purchased for the earthquake disaster in Pakistan and, most recently, it has provided Merlin with equipment to vaccinate 600 victims of cyclone Nargis in Burma against cholera.
 

The Institute of Cancer Research received a substantial sum to purchase specialist computer equipment to aid research into their genome project for faulty genes which increase lung cancer risk.
 

Encompass carried out the AquaLung Journey of Understanding which enabled 12 Palestinian and 12 Israeli teenagers to come together at an outward bound week in Wales. The week had a particularly difficult start but the letters of thanks at the end of the week are testament to the Encompass vision.
 

Due to circumstances beyond our control we have been unable to support Magpie as the Winchester Health Foundation and the hospital are re-thinking their strategies. We hope to be able to support them with cancer care in the future once they have agreed a way forward.

More important to Nick than anything was his family, whom he adored and he really worked to ensure that, especially in recent times, their focus was not on his illness but to continue with life as normal and to create some amazing memories.

We are all so incredibly proud of him and everything that he has achieved.

It is essential for us all that the AquaLung Trust continues to help support the causes that Nick and the family feel so strongly about.

There was a Thanksgiving Service at Winchester Cathedral on June 23rd at 3pm.