2011 Charity Pursuit
Children In Need – A Short History
Prior to 1986 the Solent Circuit culminated with a ‘pursuit race’.
In October 1986 Jim Fleming (the then Rear Commodore Sailing) had suggested that the pursuit race could be run in aid of Children in Need, which was thought to be a good idea and agreed.
That year the first ‘Children in Need’ Charity Pursuit Race was run and a good response was reported.
A lot of ‘scrounging’ then went on to obtain trophies for this charity pursuit race. New Forest Glass Sculptures very kindly produced two ‘Pudsey’ glass figures for the Club, at no cost. Unfortunately the first one shattered due to a manufacturing fault, but they quickly replaced the trophy.
After racing there is a dutch auction of items donated by members and local businesses.There have been some spetacular bidding wars over the years. This is a great fun way to give money to charity.
Since then many thousands of pounds has been raised for Children in Need.
This years Charity Pursuit Race is scheduled for Sunday 20th November and will be followed by the Charity Pursuit Prize giving. The First Keelboat start will be 10.00am and the first Dinghy start will be at 10.30am.
Hard Copy of Nor & Entry Forms etc both Dinghy & Keelboat are now available from the racks in the foyer.
2011 Charity Pursuit Race Results
Written by David Gorringe Tuesday, 15 November 2011 22:18
2011 20th November Charity Pursuit Race - Report
Written by Barry Sticklen Sunday, 20 November 2011 00:00
LTSC Racers raise £2282.75 for Children in Need
Lymington Town Sailing Club closed out its yacht racing for 2011 on Sunday 20th November, with their annual Charity Pursuit Race in aid of the BBC Children in Need Appeal. In this format, the slower yachts set off first and the fastest yachts up to forty minutes later, handicapped so they should all finish together.
Thirty one yachts came to the start line in a light easterly breeze, with the sun burning off the early mist to provide a superb autumn day. The Folkboats ‘Strider’ of Andrew Salanson and ‘Samphire’, James Hoare and Graham Coulter, along with the Westerly Konsort ‘Unity’ of Robert and Richard Truscott were first away. The race officer set a figure of eight course of five miles each lap. In the light airs the smaller boats struggled to make headway against the tide, but as the clock ticked on, a building breeze aided the faster boats who soon made up their time.
With just under an hour sailed, Strider was clinging on to the lead, chased closely by ‘Selene’, the Hanse350 of LTSC Cruising Captain David Burgess. However, Peter Schofield’s HOD 35 ‘Zarafa’ soon sailed through into a lead she would not relinquish. Meanwhile, further back in the fleet there were some tight mark roundings and very close racing. Stuart Brand and Emma Gage, along with the entire crew of their Sigma 33 ‘Ephesian’ entered into the spirit of the event with fancy dress and outrageous wigs. This did not detract from their sailing performance though, as they broke through into second place, just managing to cling on until the time limit expired at 1200 hrs.
Nick Kirkman’s Jane won the battle of the two J80’s to finish third, whilst David Lees’ Hephzibah was fourth. After the finish, the fleet made a spectacular sight in the autumn sunshine as they headed back into the river. The prize giving was generously supported by Cape Wine Cellars who donated several cases of their most excellent South African wines for the winning crews.
Following the prize giving, Vice Commodore Nick Hopwood conducted the traditional Dutch Auction, The lots included a lift out and scrub at Lymington Yacht Haven, clothing and kit donated by Harken UK and a variety of other items donated by local businesses and club members. The day was a great success, raising a total of £2282.75 for the BBC Children in Need Appeal. LTSC would like to thank all competitors and sponsors for their support. Sponsors and Donors include: Ineos, Harken, Wightlink, Cape Wine Cellars, Lymington Yacht haven, Nick Cox Yacht Chandlers and Force 4 Chandlery.
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