Two Teenagers Cross the Channel for Charity

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UK. Teenagers cross channel in laser dinghies and raise £10,000 for Sailability charity

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Two 17-year-old sailors recently crossed the Channel in Lasers, raising more than £10,000 for the Royal Yachting Association's charity, Sailability, which helps people with disabilities to experience sailing.

Nick Church from London and Florence Barrow from Suffolk, completed the gruelling journey from Dover to Calais in 3 hours 20 minutes despite challenging conditions of a SW force 4 and high waves.

The pair hatched the idea for the fundraising event while on a yacht working towards their Duke of Edinburgh award. They approached Laser, supporters of RYA Sailability, who sponsored their challenge by donating the boats, radial sails, life jackets and trolleys. The Pilot and Channel Swimming Federation also sponsored the event, supplying safety boats that accompanied the sailors for their entire journey across the Channel.

Flo's father welcomed the brave duo in Calais with warm fleeces donated by Finnister, and all three returned to the UK courtesy of Brittany Ferries.
The victorious pair also received a framed and personally signed picture from the Laser team at the Southampton Boat Show.

Both Nick and Flo are dinghy instructors who spent the summer intensively training for the challenge, but there's nothing like the real thing to test your skills, according to Flo.

"Leaving Dover in the choppy wake of a ferry in big waves was a bit daunting," she said. "But once we got out of the harbour it was a great sail."
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The victorious pair also received a framed and personally signed picture from the Laser team at the Southampton Boat Show.

Flo is now also working with Wolverstone Sailability on a children's regatta for next year.

Tuesday, 03 October 2006 John Harris Burland/Sandra Riedel O'Brien
 
I know this is an old thread, but... that's awesome! Good on 'em!

We have a Sailability group who use our facilities out here. Sailability is simply awesome stuff.
 

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