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The 24 hour sponsored sail has raised £7510 for BLESMA.
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After a large amount of planning to try and bring all the different parties together at the same time and with many changes in plan on the way the event not only happened but achieved all that it set out to do.
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| The rules were simple - the boats stayed on the water for 24 hours, all crew changeovers being done by power boats coming out to the dinghies. Crews changed over at 1, 2 or 4 hour intervals with under 16s only sailing during daylight hours. Full safety cover was provided at all times by the lifeguards and Bosworth Water Trust.
As the sun went down the near full moon and the stars provided sufficient light that it was never pitch black. The boats were adorned with glow sticks as were some of the buoys and the jetty was flood-lit as a base for the power boats. The wind slowly reduced in strength. For Helen and Brian Cooper it was their wedding anniversary and they were spending the evening slowly sailing around the lake. A surprise sumptuous supper of fish and chips and Champagne was delivered to them on the water together with a euphonium serenade by William Batchelor. Any lack of ability to sail a straight line after that was put down to the lack of wind! Helen Kitchen and her team did a sterling job provided soup, sandwiches and drinks throughout the night and breakfast cobs in the morning. A most valuable contribution to keep everybody going. As the night wore on, the wind got less and less but it was at least a clear fine night. Boats moved very slowly although generally they still made headway despite the efforts of the weed to drag them backwards. Tacking was tricky and strange reports came in of progress being made by simply leaving the sails set on one side of the boat whilst sailing round and round the islands in the middle of the lake, a circuit of the pond often taking an hour or two.
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| The wind suddenly picked up just after 8am, a little disappointing for all the people who had just swapped out for a crew change, although this was mitigated a little by breakfast being served!
Thanks go to all who took part in the many different ways, to those who sailed and to all those who helped to organise and run it. Thanks particularly to (in no particular order):
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The 24 hour endurance sail in aid of BLESMA was a great success. It's too early to see how much we've raised yet but it's looking very good. The purpose of this sponsored sail was to raise money for BLESMA (British Limbless Ex-Service Men's Association) in support of members of the regiment injured in Afghanistan. BLESMA do a lot of work with injured soldiers in the way of providing adventurous activities for them as well as psychological support. As a team the plight of these soldiers was brought to our attention when Scott, the son of one of our instructors, and members of his squad were severely injured in action in Afghanistan. We felt we wanted to do something to help them, and the idea for a sponsored sail was suggested by a young assistant instructor, Alexandra Batchelor. 
The event was opened by the Mayor of Hinckley and Bosworth, Councilor Keith Lynch. Seven boats were taking part in the 24 hour sail, each manned by a team of people who would change over at various stages during the 24 hours. One of those boats only had a team of 2 who sailed together for the full 24 hours. Various other boats also took to the water during the daylight hours. The evening was sunny with sufficient breeze to sail and all started well.
The mist was rising as dawn began to break over the lake. The damp and cold morning was balanced to some extent by the picturesque sight of the mist swirling over the lake. The mist showed what direction the wind was taking, slight as it was. Disconcertingly it showed that the faint breeze swirled backwards and forwards with ever changing directions. At times the boats disappeared completely in the mist.
The day continued with excellent weather. Nick Davis and other lads from Scott's platoon arrived in the morning, together with other amputees being supported by BLESMA. Unfortunately Scott was stuck in a traffic hold-up on the M6. A reporter and camera man from ITV Central news also arrived and filmed various interviews. After talking to members of the Royal British Legion, Nick and Rob, a multiple amputee from a bomb blast in Northern Ireland, went out in the Sea Cadets boat whilst being filmed and interviewed on the water. Nick took a call from Andrew Tiernan in the US whilst out on the water. Andrew was also out on the water on White Bear Lake Minnesota taking part in his sponsored sail to tie in with the last few hours of the Bosworth one. 
Scott arrived shortly after this and was chatting to Nick about the technicalities of their different artificial leg technologies. Scott seemed very upbeat about life although he said he was a little tired as he'd been out for a 3 mile run the day before! Scott had already received a phone call from Andrew Tiernan whilst on the way. More interviews were conducted with Scott. The ITV central news with the item about the sail was shown on a screen in the room where the buffet was set up, 10 minutes before the sail ended at 6pm. Everyone then relaxed at the end of the day with a barbeque and buffet chatting to Scott and the other lads that were there. It was then time to catch up on some sleep, particularly for those who hadn't had any the night before, as the next day there was the final youth regatta of the season to be run! 
