Bart's Bash at Royal Anglesey Yacht Club
by Stevie Scanlan 29 Sep 2014 19:38 BST
21 September 2014
World Record attempt to honour British Sailor's Life
Hundreds of people joined together to celebrate the life of Andrew 'Bart' Simpson in Beaumaris recently. The Royal Anglesey Yacht Club was just one of 740 clubs around the world that took part in Bart's Bash, a world-record attempt for the largest sailing event, that involved over 17,000 sailors world-wide.
Bart was killed whilst in San Francisco training for the America's Cup last year.
His friends and family joined forces to run a race in his name, the Bart's Bash. This initiative has caught the imagination of the sailing community and beyond.
Royal Anglesey Yacht Club decided to use Bart's Bash to break down barriers by using it as an opportunity to involve younger people in sailing. Guests were invited to join in the race on board classic racing yachts on the stunningly beautiful waters of the Menai Straits.
Ewan McEwan, the Barts Bash event planner at the Royal Anglesey Yacht Club said: "We invited local children to come and help us take part in the world record attempt. And we were delighted when they all came. Most of the visitors on the day had never sailed before but all of them came off the water with huge smiles having raced on the waters of the Menai Strait for the very first time. The feedback from them has been amazing and our members who all took guests aboard all loved the day too. We are lucky enough to experience this every week and being able to show other people why we enjoy it so much was really wonderful."
Sailing, governed by the Welsh Yachting Association, is one of Wales' most important sports. Many of our Welsh sailors compete at the elite level and the Welsh coastline boasts so many clubs as do our many lakes. To find out more and connect with your local club contact the WYA through their web site.
www.bartsbash.co.uk