Member Article

Lecturers’ oar-some effort for youth development charity

There may not have been a Gold medal at the end of it for John Perry and Tommy Procter, but the lecturers from South Tyneside College’s Marine School have put in an Olympian effort to row nine miles of the River Tyne and raise £1000 for youth development and sail training charity Ocean Youth Trust North.

Captain John Perry, a lecturer in the college’s School of Deck Cadets, and retired Captain Tommy Procter staged the third annual South Shields Marine School Rowing Race in July, over 9 miles from Newcastle to South Shields, with North Shields based OYTN as the nominated charity.

The event saw four crews race from Newcastle’s Quayside to South Shields Marine School’s Marine Safety Training Centre (MSTC), a distance of eight nautical miles or 9.2 miles, escorted by James Cook, OYTN’s 70-foot sailing boat, and rescue boats from the South Shields TS Collingwood Sea Cadets.

Captain John Perry said: “We had a target of raising £1000 for Ocean Youth Trust North and we are delighted we made it. It’s important that less fortunate and disadvantaged young people have the opportunity to change their lives by going to sea on a tall ship like James Cook.

My own son sailed in the Tall Ships Race several times and it benefited him enormously. This money is going to an extremely good cause.“

The annual rowing contest was set up three years ago by Captain Procter and Captain Perry, to raise funds for the Bobby Robson Foundation cancer charity, after one of their colleagues at the Marine School sadly died of the disease.

This year’s race was won by the Fleetwood Nautical Campus, with crews from South Shields Marine School finishing second and third, while the North of England P&I Club finished fourth.

OYTN provides adventure under sail voyages for young people aged 12-25 from all backgrounds. Crews have included blind and deaf people, young offenders, young carers, cancer sufferers, Duke of Edinburgh groups, youth and school groups.

Steve Lennon, general manager of OYTN, said: “We’d like to thank John and all his colleagues at South Tyneside College’s Marine School. Charities like ours depend on the generosity of fundraisers and this money will go a long way to helping us run voyages and give young people the opportunity to learn the essential life skills of discipline, responsibility and teamwork that comes from adventurous sailing at sea.”

To find out more about OYTN or book a sail voyage, visit: www.sailjamescook.com

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Matthew Moore .