Ellen MacArthur Cancer Trust supports 25 young people at this year's Round the Island Race
by Ashton Howard 10 Jul 2018 06:28 BST
7 July 2018
2018 Round the Island Race © Alex Irwin /
www.sportography.tv
Over 1200 boats set sail on Saturday (7th July) for the iconic Round the Island Race, four of those boats were filled with 25 young people sailing with the Trust. This was not a first-time trip but part of the Trust's unique return to sail programme, which seeks to ensure a long-term support system for the young people they support.
The young people came from locations all over the UK to take on the 55-mile race around the Isle of Wight. Trust founding Patron Ellen MacArthur and record-breaking sailor Brian Thompson also joined the crews for the day to share their knowledge with the young people.
The current high pressure that has dominated the UK meant an incredibly challenging race for the 87th edition of the Round the Island Race. After a slow start for the fleet in the early hours of the day, the Trust boats bobbed along taking four hours to reach the Needles and hoping for the sea breeze to materialise. Shortly after the Needles the crew onboard Shabeene and Wight Orca made the call to retire and headed back to Cowes along with hundreds of others who struggled to make progress in the windless heat.
The two remaining Trust boats, one crewed by Trust Patron Ellen MacArthur struggled on in some of the lightest conditions seen in the history of the race. After 13 long hours at sea Ellen MacArthur Cancer Trust boats Waita and Omerta crossed the finish line and came home to enjoy a well-deserved dinner of fish and chips.
One of the young people sailing onboard was Tom, 15 from Farnham. He received treatment for a brain tumour at Southampton General Hospital. The Trust has been instrumental in helping to rebuild Tom's confidence after cancer, "Sailing with Ellen MacArthur during Round the Island Race was a once in a lifetime experience; the Ellen MacArthur Cancer Trust has really helped me over the years and massively improved my social skill.
The Ellen MacArthur Cancer Trust is proud to work with every young person's specialist treatment centre unit in the UK, but for every young person like Tom that we work with there are nine that we can't. We want to reach even more young people during this crucial time after treatment. The Ellen MacArthur Cancer Trust has secured 50 places for the Simply Health Great South Run, Europe's leading 10 mile road race. Sign up to be part of one of our biggest fundraising events this year and help transform the lives of young people recovering from cancer.
Email or visit our website www.ellenmacarthurcancertrust.org/getinvolved