This weekend (Saturday 29th June), Stone father and son, Michael and Cliff Goodwin, together with Stone based Woolcool’s Director, Keith Spilsbury and other members of Stafford Coastal Cruising Club will race in the world’s largest entry sailing race, the ‘Round The Island Race’ in aid of Cystic Fibrosis.
Starting and finishing in Cowes, the Round the Island Race is an annual yacht race around the Isle of Wight. It is organised by the Island Sailing Club. The course is about 50 nautical miles (93 km) long.
Michael and Cliff Goodwin are no strangers to sailing, but when they lost their son & brother to Cystic Fibrosis 2 years ago at the age of just 36 years they stepped up their fight against the life debilitating illness to raise thousands of pounds for charity.
Cliff said “Dad has raised over £35K in the last 4 years for Cystic Fibrosis mainly through sailing! What started for him as a hobby, which me and my brother would join him at, has now turned in to an annual opportunity to raise vital funds for the charity. The race is tough, it has over 1200 yachts already set to enter making it one of the world’s largest sailing races. This coupled with unknown conditions, a crew we have rarely sailed with, and the hazards of sailing with so many other vessels will make this race a real challenge!”
Michael explains how people can support the team, “Our yacht is called, Appaloosa, which is where our team name comes from. So we want to reach out to friends, family and strangers to help us raise money for the Cystic Fibrosis Trust. We’re asking for just £1 but if people feel able to give more that’s great! People can go to our facebook page – facebook.com/teamappaloosa – which Cliff plans to update regularly with photos and video during the race.
One of the crew will be Keith Spilsbury, Strategic Director of Stone based Woolcool who previously sponsored Mike’s successful Round Britain Challenge in 2015/16 in aid of The Cystic Fibrosis Trust. Angela Morris, Chief Executive of Woolcool, said: “We will be following Appaloosa’s progress all the way round and will be there to cheer them on as they cross the finishing line!”
To follow the crews’ progress, including their preparation up to race day on Saturday, visit their facebook page where there will be a link to track their exact position live!
