A Fermanagh man living with pulmonary fibrosis who is on a 24/7 oxygen supply is taking on a unique challenge this weekend as he plans to undertake a 24-hour sail on Lough Erne.

Marty Ansfield, who lives in Derrygonnelly but grew up on Boa Island, is taking on the sail in aid of Pulmonary Fibrosis NI and Sailability – a scheme that helps those who have disabilities or additional needs to experience sailing, with the scheme based locally at Lough Erne Yacht Club.

Marty and others will sail across Lough Erne for 24 hours and Marty will begin his challenge sailing a Hansa 303, which is a special boat adapted for those with disabilities to be able to sail.

He will swap between this boat and a Yeoman Sailing Boat and a GK24 sailing boat, and will swap between crewed boats and his Hansa throughout the challenge.

Looking ahead to the challenge, Marty said: “I wanted to do the full thing in the Hansa but the directors did not want me to do that with my health condition, so we came to the compromise that I would do two hours in the Hansa solo, and go back to the jetty and get into a bigger boat with a member of the club.

“I will still helm the boat and the club member will be my crew and will keep me company.”

There will be a more traditional boat for the final few hours of Marty’s challenge. He said: “My final boat is a ferry boat, which is unique to Lough Erne.

“It used to be a gentry sailing boat and a friend of mine at the Yacht Club has one, so he and I will go out in it, so we will be using four classes of boats.”

Marty will sail in the area of Lough Erne Yacht Club, Ely Lodge, Devenish Island and Long Island. He will be supported by a safety boat.

He was first diagnosed with pulmonary fibrosis five years ago as well as Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD), and the diagnosis came after he began to feel ill one day while at work.

He said: “I was working doing the Devenish Island ferry for the Bradshaws, and I used to walk up the hill and check the toilet every hour, and would do a litter pick. One day, I felt very weak and tired.

“I told Jenny [Marty’s wife] and she said, ‘I’ll get on to the Bradshaws’, and she went and phoned the Bradshaws. They got a driver to relieve me, and she phoned down to the GP. I went in to see the practice nurse and she told me I had Stage Two COPD.”

Living with pulmonary fibrosis means that Marty can often be tired, and is on a 24-hour oxygen supply.

“At rest, I am on four litres of oxygen an hour; when I am walking around or moving, it’s 10-15 litres an hour.

“For the sailing I hope to regulate myself at about six litres an hour, because I am not moving around but I will just have to monitor it on the day,” he explained.

Marty will take to the water at 6pm on Friday, June 30, and will sail until 6pm on July 1, with the activity seeing him awake for a very long time.

Marty said: “I will be awake from Friday morning right through to the early hours of Sunday, because we have a raffle and dance to follow the sail.”

Optimistic about his challenge, Marty said: “When you put your heart in something, you go for it.”

A Justgiving page has been set up by Marty and his wife Jennifer to receive donations, and can be assessed at https://tinyurl.com/3u64z238.