Youngsters sail with round-the-world yachtswoman
SOVEREIGN Harbour was one of the first stops on a sail round Britain for young people recovering from serious illnesses.
The Ellen MacArthur Trust Skandia Round Britain Voyage stopped at Eastbourne on the first leg of its trip from Cowes in the Isle of Wight.
On board was Ellen MacArthur herself, the solo yachtswoman who in 2005 broke the world record for fastest circumnavigation of the globe.
She was joined by five young cancer survivors aged 12 to 17 and said, "I'm absolutely over the moon to be off and to be sharing this moment with the five young people – Harriet, Joseph, Jack, Rachel and Chlo – on the first leg of this trip.
"At the end of the day, their enjoyment is the most important element and it is lovely that that has now begun."
The sailing trip will involve 85 young people on 17 legs, sailing 2000 nautical miles on a four-month voyage.
The crew for the first leg sailed from Cowes to Dover, via Portsmouth, Brighton and Eastbourne. Its youngest member is 12-year-old Joseph Cunningham, from Dartford, Kent.
Joseph was treated at Great Ormond Street Hospital for a brain tumour when he was younger and said his hero was Ellen MacArthur.
This is his third sailing challenge, following a trip round the Isle of Wight and a part in Bradwell Dinghy Week.
He said, "When you are ill, you are not really independent at all but when you come on one of these trips you have to be much more independent and rely on yourself."
Skipper Cath Vise said the trip had made a big difference in building up the confidence of those who had taken part so far.
Follow its progress at www.roundbritain.org.
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Weather for Bexhill-on-Sea
Sunday 05 February 2012
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