A sailing adventure for Maridi! You can give too…
My wife Nina went as part of a small team to visit our partner diocese, Maridi, in December 2014. Although she witnessed the immense need she was struck by how much hope and ambition the people of South Sudan possess. They there want to improve their lives and become more self–reliant and the Maridi Demonstration Farm is an excellent example of this. Not only does it provide locally produced fruit and vegetables, but also teaches more sustainable methods of farming. The diocese has plans to further develop another mine free area but they do need our help to do this.
And that’s why last weekend we sailed two RS200s the whole way from Newcastle to the Isle of Man and back! These small two man performance dinghies are designed for inshore club racing, not making a sea going passage, therefore truly a tremendous achievement!!
A team of sixteen of us made the trip (sailors, safety boat crew and a yachtswoman) providing the perfect mix of youth, experience, enthusiasm and caution to ensure success. Even with benign weather, such a journey would be considered a serious undertaking , so arriving at the club on Saturday morning to a sea of dancing white horses and no respite likely in the forecast, knowing we had a 50 mile trip ahead had a few of us taking some sharp intakes of breath. So, full to the brim with fear and excitement we set off on a F4–5 following wind, pushing us on for the whole of the trip. We endured six hours of what turned into a rollercoaster sea, climbing over and racing down the waves for the second half of the outward journey. It was wet, brutally cold, physically and mentally demanding and yet all the time fabulously exhilarating.
Peel (below) was still in party mode with the town thronged with those following the TT races that finished up the previous day, making for a great night exchanging stories. After a good night’s camp, we left then the following morning into a F3–4 wind on the nose. Thankfully however after the first couple of hours it veered round behind us and eased as the passage progressed, allowing the sore bottoms, tired thighs and blistered hands some relief. As we passed St Johns Point it finally fell off to just about nothing, frustratingly meaning it took us over two hours to get the last three miles or so back into to Newcastle! It was a huge effort and a fabulous adventure for all of us, one we will remember for many years to come.
And by making it happen we’ve also raised a considerable sum of money for charity You can show your support by donating online and your donation will go straight to CMS Ireland specifically for the Maridi Demonstration Farm.
Log onto https://mydonate.bt.com/fundraisers/dinghysailtoisleofman
A very sincere THANK YOU to all who have contributed already but we haven’t reached our target yet!!
By Clive Coffey
Photos by Simon McIlwaine.