Sailors brave high seas in fundraiser

Sailors brave high seas in fundraiser

24 June 2015

ADVENTUROUS Newcastle sailors have braved the choppy seas for charity. A 16-strong crew boarded three two-man dinghies and rescue boats to sail from Newcastle to the Isle of Man in order to raise money for rural communities in Sudan and Nepal.

The dinghies, which are designed for inshore racing, made the 80-mile round trip across the Irish Sea in aid of Community Action Nepal Earthquake Appeal and to fund a demonstration farm in rural southern Sudan.

With one of three dinghies forced to turn back due to the high winds and another crew capsizing at the beginning of the trip, the teams encountered increasingly difficulty conditions as they sailed into the open seas.

Although one of the helmsmen, Clive Coffey, says it is impossible to determine the size of the breaking waves, he admits the team was slightly taken aback on their arrival in Newcastle on the morning of the challenge to see the stormy waters.

“When we arrived at the club to a sea of dancing white horses and no respite likely in the forecast, there were a few large intakes of breath,” he said.

“However, full to the brim with fear and excitement we set off on a force 4-5 following wind, pushing us on for the whole trip.

“We endured six hours of what turned into a roller coaster sea, climbing over and racing down the waves for the second half of the outwards journey.

“It was wet brutally cold, physically and mentally demanding and yet all the time fabulous and exhilarating.”

After a night of rest at their camp in Peel, the team set off for home the following morning and, after a couple of hours sailing into a force 3-4 wind, had a somewhat calmer voyage.

Clive said the team was delighted to have already raised £3,500 towards its £5,000 goal for their two selected charities.

He explained they had decided to fundraise for the community in South Sudan after his wife, Nina, visited the area through her Church of Ireland parish in Dromore.

During her visit to the Maridi Diocese, which is near the Congolese border, she was struck by the hope and ambition of the people.

“They want to improve their lives and become more self-reliant and the Maridi Demonstration Farm is an excellent example of this,” he said.

“Not only does it provide locally produced fruit and vegetable, it also teachers more sustainable methods of farming.

“The diocese has plans to further develop another area that has been cleared of mines and they do  need our help with this.”

The second charity supported through the event is Community Action Nepal, which supports Nepalese mountain communities to improve health, education and welfare.

Anyone interested in contributing to either charity is asked to do so via https://mydonate.bt.com/fundraisers/dinghysailtoisleofman or https://www.justgiving.com/sailtoisleofman.