Peter Harrison announces all-girls Fastnet Challenge

These are busy times for Peter Harrison. Not only has he entered two teams for this summer’s Admiral’s Cup regatta, including a challenge under the Sailability banner, but now he has lent the Farr 50 ‘Chernikeef’ to an all-women’s team for the Fastnet Race. Racing for the erstwhile children’s hospice Naomi House, fifteen women will take part in the race with the goal of raising over 35,000stg for the self-funding charity.

At the launch party Harrison declared, “if anything is a motivating force, Naomi House is it.” The superb facilities just outside Winchester in Sutton Scotney provide respite and terminal care in a welcoming and homely environment for children with life-limiting and life-threatening conditions and their families.

The challenge came about as Christina Dinsmore mused to Harrison at a Stoke Mandeville party that she would love to do the Fastnet but couldn’t find a boat. Ever the knight in shining armour, Harrison swung to the rescue and generously offered both himself and the services of the Chernikeef Racing team free of charge. Dinsmore took up the offer and with Crew Clothing onboard as outfitters, began putting together a team that comprises of professional sailors and ‘professional amateurs’.

Skippering the boat will be a joint operation. Lorna Graham of Fastnet double-handed fame and a finalist of offshore yachtsman of the year 2001 will be joined by Jo Burchell. Jo’s just completed the Volvo race with Amer Sports Too and was a watch leader on the very first Clipper RTWR. The team will undergo a hectic schedule of events combining fund-raising dinners and intense crew training in preparation for what is regarded by many as one of the toughest offshore challenges in sailing.

Success will be no mean feat with Chernikeef undergoing major surgery ahead of the Admiral’s Cup to compete in the big boat division. “It’s quite a good machine” commented Harrison and with 150% genoas, tennis-court sized asymmetric kites and a new mainsail aboard, the girls know that they’ve got their work cut out. However with a committee of committed fundraisers behind them and a clear-cut goal, those green rollers of the Irish Sea shouldn’t seem so bad after all.

One concern not on the minds of the sailors will be the rent that has to be paid on Naomi House. With an operating cost of 4,000stg a day, the grounds that the hospice sits on are covered by the delivery of a dozen red roses every midsummer’s day to the owner Mrs Mary Cornelius-Reid!

If you know any of the girls below or would like to sponsor them then please do contact Lucie Lewis (01590 683368), Christina Dinsmore (01590 674760) or Georgie Williams (01590 624811)

The Sailing Team, Fastnet 2003:

Toni Avis, Emma Bateman, Ronnie Belfitt, Heather Bisiker, Jo Burchell, Eliza Bruml, Christina Dinsmore, Sue Evans, Lorna Graham, Clare Hassell, Jemima Marshall, Jo Mooring-Aldridge, Tania Rostand, Georgie Williams