Simon takes on Eddystone Sailing Challenge in aid of Dame Hannahs

Simon Richardson, Site Maintenance Manager at the Dame Hannah Rogers Trust, is set to sail in the Eddystone Charity Sailing Pursuit to raise money for the charity.

The 26-mile offshore pursuit will take place on June 18th and is open to sailors of all abilities. The main aim of the event is to fundraise for charities that ‘benefit the human condition’ and it offers a really fun way to raise money for a very worthwhile cause. Now in its 21st year, the Pursuit has raised over £800,000 for over 100 charities. The course will start and finish at the same line off Plymouth Hoe with the course going out to Hand Deeps buoy.

Having joined Dame Hannahs six months ago, Plympton resident Simon is relatively new to sailing but has decided to take on the challenge to raise money for much needed equipment for the young adults. After 10 years in the Royal Navy, Simon spent over 20 years in a number of different roles in Devon before joining Dame Hannahs.

Simon said “I was medically discharged from the Royal Navy in 1998 after a little over 10 years’ service as an engineer. In 2018 I made contact with Turn to Starboard, a charity that help veterans affected by their service go sailing, even if like me you had never sailed before. At this point my daughter was taking an interest in water sports so I thought sailing would help her and us as a family. I was also volunteering as a safety boat driver with a local youth sailing group helping get under 18’s from Plymouth on the water, so the understanding of how to sail would be a valuable skill to have to support the young adults on the water.

After we had our family sailing experience through Turn to Starboard I decided to enter their Zero to Hero programme in the hope of qualifying as a RYA Yachtmaster. All was going well until Covid hit and all our plans were put on hold. However I now have my RYA Day Skipper qualification and I bought a boat so that I can spend time with the family on the water away from the stresses of modern life. Having worked at Dame Hannahs for a little over six months, I have seen the funding challenges and thought it would be a great opportunity to do something to support the young adults by raising some money to help purchase much needed equipment”.

Dame Hannahs Community Engagement Officer, Debbie Lumsdon, said “We are very grateful to Simon for supporting Dame Hannahs in the Eddystone Charity Sailing Pursuit. Simon is a new member of staff and it is great to see his enthusiasm to raise much-needed funds”.
To sponsor Simon please visit his Just Giving page:
https://www.justgiving.com/fundraising/simon-richardson51