5,000 miles, 50 sailors, and €500,000 raised for charities
The Solidaire du Chocolat, the first transatlantic yacht race between France and Mexico, will start on 18 October off the shore of Saint Nazaire. The Solidaire du Chocolat is not just a sporting event that invites a fine fleet of Class 40s, sailed two-handed, to weigh each other up on the tracks of the cocoa trade. The Solidaire du Chocolat, is in fact much more than that. It also represents a solidarity challenge and forms part of a concrete sustainable development project. In a world where inequality is increasing, charities need financial resources more than ever.
Stephen and I have chosen to support ORBIS, a nonprofit, global development organisation whose mission is to eliminate avoidable blindness in developing countries. Blindness and visual impairment have an enormous personal and social cost, limiting the education and life choices of otherwise healthy children, and placing a heavy burden on families and the wider community. Blind and visually impaired children in India almost never receive an education, get married or live independent lives; always relying on others for their survival. Their life expectancy is also significantly shorter than that of sighted children – an estimated 50% of blind children in developing countries die within two years of losing their sight. Blindness has a huge impact on the economic development of a country, and it is estimated that the net loss due to blindness in India is approximately £2.2 billion annually.
For me, I will also be fulfilling a long held ambition to participate in a transatlantic yacht race, the biggest thing I have done since winning RORC Yacht of the Year in Slingshot.
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