Schoolgirl completes solo island charity sail
HIGH winds and big waves were no match for schoolgirl Heather Aitken who sailed around the Isle of Wight to raise funds for a charity trip to Africa.
The 15-year-old from Warsash sailed her Laser dingy single-handed 60 miles in challenging conditions around the island and took her 11 hours and 5 mins.
Heather said: '˜Sailing in two metre waves when your boat is only four meters is tough and it was like that for the longest stretch around the island.'Â
'˜But sailing from sunrise then getting back to Warsash Sailing Club just as the sun was setting - that was incredible.'
Heather is raising money for her trip to Africa next year where she will be working with a World Challenge on a local community project in Swaziland.
She is part of a group of volunteers from Brookfield Community School and she and her friends need to raise £2850 to travel to Africa next summer and currently she has raised nearly £2,000.
Heather added: '˜I want to say a big thank you to everyone who supported and sponsored me.
'˜When I crossed the finishing line at Yarmouth there was a brilliant crowd of people cheering me and in and it made the difference.'
To donate visit justgiving.com/crowdfunding/heatherswaziland
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