‘24 Hours In A Liferaft’ gets under way at Brighton Marina
by Marina Johnson on 10 Oct 2012
Sail 4 Cancer liferaft Sail 4 Cancer
Sail 4 Cancer supporters around the UK will be spending 24 hours in a liferaft on various dates in November to raise awareness of the 1,000 people who are diagnosed with the disease every 24 hours.
Sail 4 Cancer, the leading sailing charity, will be spending ‘24 hours in a liferaft’ over several weekends in November to raise awareness of the charity’s work and the one thousand people who are diagnosed with cancer in the UK every day.
Sail 4 Cancer was the first charity in the UK to stage such an event in 2009. Since then the event has been slowly gathering momentum. Volunteers and supporters will be gathering in several locations across the UK for the challenge, the first of which starts in Brighton Marina at midday on Saturday the 10th of November – ending 24 hours later.
Sail 4 Cancer’s Chairman, Graham Precey, provided the background 'In the same way that Liferafts provide a lifeline when something goes badly wrong at sea, Sail 4 Cancer’s days out and short-breaks for families affected by cancer provide a lifeline in often very difficult circumstances.'
'The 24 hour period for this challenge is significant. Nearly 1,000 people are diagnosed with cancer every 24 hours in the UK. We’re doing this to recognise the turmoil that a cancer diagnosis brings to so many families across the UK every day.'
'Spending 24 hours in a liferaft in the middle of winter will be a pretty uncomfortable experience but compared to the rigours of cancer treatment this will be easy. I’ll be joining a small number of volunteers in the raft in Brighton Marina on the 10th of November. My thanks to Premier Marinas for all their support.'
Graham concluded 'Sail 4 Cancer has several spare liferafts, so if anyone else would like to get involved this year, or even stage their own event, please get in touch. We’re also keen to hear from sailing clubs who’d like to get involved in our ‘24 Hours In A Liferaft’ challenge for 2013. Think of it as camping on the water for the night. Forty per cent (40%) of us will get cancer and hopefully this will be seen as a different and fun way to support a cause which affects us all.'
The proceeds from the challenge will be used by Sail 4 Cancer to provide water based days-out and short-breaks for families affected by cancer. The charity also makes grants to care institutions and funds research into the positive effects of sport and how it can reduce cancer incidence and improve survival rates post diagnosis.
If you would like to sponsor one of the teams, please visit the
Sail 4 Cancer website.
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