Sailors take on challenge to raise funds for sea rescue base

Eight sailors who took part in the inaugural Little Optimist Trust Global Race in aid of Port Elizabeth’s National Sea Rescue Initiative on Saturday raised just more than R24,000.

They sailed from the Noordhoek ski boat club to the Port Elizabeth harbour, about 22km across open water.

They took on the race with Optimist Dinghies, small 8ft-vessels better suited to children or teenagers on calm inland waters.  

The funds raised will be split between NSRI Port Elizabeth and the Little Optimist Trust, the NSRI’s Judy Moolman said.

“The sailors had to pick a charity to donate 50% of the funds raised, and the NSRI was their choice.

“They all used the free RSA SAFETRX app which is live monitored and tracks movement of the boat at sea,” Moolman said.

The safety app is downloaded on a smartphone and monitors the boat’s journey in real-time, while having an emergency button for distress calls.

The challenge was open for participation any time between October 9 and 18, but was extended to the past weekend for suitable weather conditions for safe sailing, she said.

Moolman said the funds would go towards the newly established Noordhoek base.

“At the moment, our satellite base in Noordhoek is only a shipping container, a boat and a tractor and we actually want to make a more permanent structure with equipment so that we’re able to respond quicker to emergency call-outs on the wild side,” she said.

The challenge was led by PE NSRI volunteers Mark Dawson and Riaan du Toit, who invited a team of intrepid sailors to take part.

The optimist dinghies were escorted by two NSRI yachts and two NSRI vessels who supported the challenge.

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