MDL's charity auction raises £11,000 for three marine charities

Nicholas Bonham auctioneer at MDL's charity auction © MDL Marinas Group

The charity auction hosted by MDL Marinas during its Captains' Dinner last week (Friday 1st September) raised over £11,000 for marine charities Ocean Youth Trust (South), Blue Marine Foundation and The Maiden Factor Foundation.

Held at the Harbour Hotel in MDL's Ocean Village Marina during an exciting evening of entertainment ahead of the start of the Ocean Globe Race, the auction was chaired by Nicholas Bonham, from the family of auctioneers that founded the internationally renowned Bonhams auction house.

Among the fantastic selection of lots, and some of the highest bid items, were a flight over Hampshire in a light aircraft (£700), dinner for two at the Gaff Rigger restaurant with an overnight stay at the Southampton Harbour Hotel (£750), and a Thames champagne lunch cruise (£800).

But it was two lots in particular that captured the audience's imagination and garnered the highest bids of the night: a day sail in the Solent onboard the Ocean Youth Trust (South)'s sail training vessel, Prolific, and a name placed on the hull of Maiden as part of The Maiden Factor Foundation's 'Names Project'. The winning bid for each of these unique lots was £3000, really boosting the total money raised for the three chosen charities.

"What a fabulous evening, I can't think of a better way to celebrate the 50th anniversaries of MDL Marinas and the Whitbread Round the World Race," says Tim Mayer, Sales and Marketing Director at MDL Marinas.

"We were delighted to host such a wonderful and inspirational evening, raising money for three amazing charities whose continued efforts make the world a better place, as well as honour the brave men and women who are about to set sail on an epic eight-month adventure, racing around the world and pushing each other to the limit and beyond."

During the evening, the audience heard from Ocean Globe Race organiser Don McIntyre, as well as from Mark Todd from the Ocean Youth Trust (South), Eric Harris-Scott on behalf of the Blue Marine Foundation and The Maiden Foundation's founder, Tracy Edwards MBE.

Onboard Maiden in the 1989/1990 Whitbread, Tracy sailed the first ever all-female Whitbread crew home to Ocean Village Marina. As the after-dinner speaker, Tracy regaled those present with tales of her on water adventures and highlighted the valuable work of her charity towards empowerment of girls through education.

The Ocean Globe Race fleet, including Maiden, departs from Ocean Village Marina in the heart of Southampton on Sunday 10 September at 9.30am. The 14 yachts with their international crews will head to the start line in front of the Royal Yacht Squadron on the Isle of Wight where veteran sailor Sir Chay Blyth will officially start the race at 1pm.

For more information on the Ocean Globe Race, or to register for free tickets to the Race Village visit here

For more information on the Ocean Youth Trust (South), a charity which uses adventure under sail as a personal development opportunity for young people aged 11-25, visit oytsouth.org

For more information on the Blue Marine Foundation, a charity dedicated to restoring the ocean to health by addressing overfishing, one of the world's biggest environmental problems, visit bluemarinefoundation.com

For more information on The Maiden Foundation visit here

For more information on MDL and its marinas visit mdlmarinas.co.uk