Bear Cottage Hanse 355 handover and cheque presentation

by Deb Jeffreys on 25 Aug 2011 25th August was a perfect Pittwater day with gorgeous high blue skies and a 10-15 knot North Easterly breeze. Husam Dajani and his son Sami had huge smiles on their faces when they arrived to collect their new Hanse 355 yacht. They won the yacht in the recent charity raffle organised by yacht importers Team Windcraft to raise money for Bear Cottage, the only children’s hospice in NSW.

Husam Dajani from Manly admired the Hanse 355 at the Sydney Boat Show and bought the winning ticket number 3849 just 2 days before the draw. He never thought in his wildest dreams that he would actually win!

After his first sail on Pittwater Husam was delighted with his new yacht. 'She's so easy to sail',' he smiled.

The official handover and cheque presentation took place at 4pm. Team Windcraft’s Peter Hrones thanked the huge number of generous sponsors and volunteers who have helped this yacht raffle become a reality.

Many individuals and organisations have given their time and services either free or at much reduced rates and this means more money has gone directly to Bear Cottage.

Next Husam Dajani thanked Club Marine for donating insurance for the new yacht. Everyone was delighted to hear that Husam and his family will be sailing the yacht from Middle Harbour Yacht Club and keeping the name 'Harry's Story'.

The Hanse 355 yacht is named after a gorgeous young boy called Harry whose journey ended just a few weeks ago at Bear Cottage.

And then the moment everyone had been waiting for... the presentation of the cheque.

Windcraft's Mary Bickley jumped on board Harry's Story and proudly handed the huge cheque for $252,511.91 to a smiling Matthew Seidl CEO of Bear Cottage.

Matthew was clearly absolutely delighted. 'This will make a big dent in our annual running costs',' Matthew said.

And finally Gilly Paxton Director of Community Relations and Marketing from the Sydney Children's Hospitals Network thanked Team Windcraft for such a successful and innovative fund raising event.

She presented Windcraft's Peter Hrones with a Bandaged Bear trophy in recognition of Windcraft's contribution and hard work.

For more information on Bear Cottage and its services go to www.bearcottage.chw.edu.au

More at www.windcraft.com.au