Wednesday, 29th March 2017
On Sunday 19 March a group of SYC Members had the privilege of taking out Challenge kids and their families for a glorious day of fun out on the water! Challenge, supporting Kids with Cancer, assists families affected by cancer by provide a range of support services and creates a community for these families to interact, relate and confide in one another and is one of SYC’s charities that we are proud to support.
You couldn’t have asked for a better day! Blue skies, 32 degrees and 10 knots of breeze! Consisting of 13 yachts, 6 power boats and one RIB we took out 125 kids and their families.
After a scrumptious BBQ cooked by volunteers, the kids were allocated to their boats. Whilst some of the children were nervous and hesitant at the beginning, by the time the yachts reached Fawkner Beacon the kids were absolutely exhilarated, roaming the decks and taking turns on the helm and on the power boats, the kids had an exciting time checking out the local sights.
Huey was even kinder to us by dropping to wind under 5 knots which was perfect for our raft up at the end of the marina where, along with inflatable toys and super soakers many of the kids and parents jumped in for a swim, whilst others had an exciting ride zooming around on the SYC RIB.
To give you a little insight of this event, John Chatham started this annual event approximately 20 years ago with Challenge and it has been going ever since, getting bigger and better every year.
It’s a privilege to be able to offer such a wonderful experience to those who are going through tough times. To see the excitement, the smiles on the kid’s faces and to see the happiness and relaxation within the parents makes it all worthwhile.
An enormous thank you to all the boat owners, skippers, crew, cooks, SYC and those who volunteered their time to ensure another successful event! There are heaps of photos of the day, which can be found here!
If you would like to be involved in next year’s event, please contact me.
Robyn Coombs
