Peter Downham was a keen sailor in his youth, building his own GP14 to sail on a puddle in Birmingham, before moving to the west coast of Scotland where he sailed at Troon and Pat would drive the tractor to tow the boats up the beach. He was a keen supporter of the lifeboat, and considered joining, but was too far from the station in the days before pagers and mobile phones.

Although in later life he spent more of his spare time on two wheels, he passed his love of the water down to both Chris and Helen and even made a cameo appearance crewing for Chris in his Merlin Rocket in the early 2000s.

Unfortunately Pete passed away unexpectedly in January whilst out riding his bicycle in his beloved France. Pat, Chris and Helen would like donations to be made to Runswick Bay Rescue Boat, an independent lifeboat in North Yorkshire, in his memory. 

Runswick Bay is an area where Pete and Pat enjoyed picnics with friends and have seen first hand the need for a local inshore boat as the tide floods extremely quickly. 

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