Fastnet Crew raise £9,500 for BEN
12 September 2007
A charity dinner was held on Friday 31 August at the Red Lion Hotel in Basingstoke to honour the BDM-BEN team who took part in this year’s Fastnet Yacht Race from Cowes. Together, the team has raised over £9,500 for BEN through undertaking the monumental challenge of competing in this 608 mile race, a pursuit which has a fearsome reputation. A cheque was handed over to Kelly Neal, BEN Events Manager.
Charles Davis, Director of BEN’s Fundraising & Communications, commented “Incredibly, the team only met for the first time in July and have since notched up over 300 racing miles on L’Ismé to qualify for this year’s event. In addition to the many hours of training to qualify for the race, individuals had to raise their own sponsorship income to take part in this event.”
Stepping outside of your ‘comfort zone’ is a term often spoken about by management training guru’s and theorist’s but, to the BDM-BEN crew, this was a harsh reality. Mike Surridge, the Organiser, commented that “There were some individuals who really had to dig deep to overcome a combination of tiredness from sailing 24/7 and manage the effects of sea sickness. Weather conditions were appalling and sadly very few yachts completed the race - over 30% of the 300 yachts entered were forced to retire before the finish, including BEN’s own team. Two of BDM-BEN’s crew members sustained injuries whilst assisting in a Mayday relay on behalf of another yacht. However, this hasn’t dampened spirits. Terry Driscoll who competed in the race says, “It’s not put any of us off, in fact, it is just unfinished business as we will be back again in 2009 for the next Fastnet race!”
