The final day of school term arrived and this year students finished off their last day in style – on the water, showing off their skills in competition with other schools!
Staff and volunteers on both the north and south shores negotiated the Helford River, laden with boxes of supplies, kindly facilitated by Mark Mercer and his fabulous ferry (Helford River Boats Sea Truck) getting everyone and everything safely to our beach, Porth Sawsen for set up.
This year, logistics felt surprisingly easy, with brilliant new Chief Instructor, Abi, taking charge of equipment setup so everything was ready in advance – all the land-based team needed to do was make it look pretty! Vice Chair of Trustees Coralie and her dedicated band of merry volunteers got to work laying out refreshments on tables that were covered by fitted cloths created from old CST sails by Marketing Manager, Katie.
We're very grateful to Chris and Rosie Fawell for their kind permission in letting our charity use their beach for our charitable sailing programme
It makes such a difference to proceedings when the sun decides to shine while setting up! By the time the beach began to fill with friends and families, the first bottle of prosecco had been popped and the old Optimist dinghy filled with ice for the beers, spirits were high and wetsuited children were at the starting lines.
“Thank you very much for inviting me to such a happy and sunny event last Friday. It was lovely to see the youngsters on and in the water, and making the most of what the Trust offers them. Many thanks for asking me to join you. With all good wishes, Daphne”
Children’s Sailing Trust River Regatta 2025 was held on Friday 18th July, with competitive activities both on and off the water playing from 4pm to 6pm, the final 15 minutes reserved for awards. There were 80 primary-aged children taking part from local schools; Wendron, Grade Ruan, Flushing, Constantine, Mawnan Smith plus a group from our Home Educated pupils.
There was a wonderful mix of activities rotated between each team, allowing for a mix of skill sets and different personalities to have the chance to shine including of course, the fan favourite, sea shanties! Each team had to create and perform their own original piece then perform it for us all to enjoy.
While all this fun was taking place, a selection of food from Gear Farm plus drinks were served by our wonderful volunteers, with thanks to our regatta main sponsor, Watergate Bay Hotel, who paid for the event.
Again, local businesses and individuals were generous with their donations to the raffle and our sincere thanks go to:
- Ferryboat Inn
- Truro Cookery School
- Cornish Sea Salt
- Cornish Lavender Farm
- St Austell Brewery
- Ceramic Artist Mel Chambers and Jonathan Thornton
- Whirlwind Sports Helston
- Daisy Chain Giftshop Helston
- CST Experiences
- Lynher Dairies
- Etherington Farm Shop
- Various Friends and Trustees of CST
Additional thanks go to Matilda Holdsworth, an A-Level student who took this impressive gallery of photos documenting our regatta:
The volunteers manning ticket sales had their work cut out in keeping up with demand but the hard work paid off with the total raised for the charity totalling a wonderful, £834! Added to the generous charitable donations made on the day, our grand total is:
£1238!
Heartfelt thanks also go to all the staff, trustees and friends who volunteer their time to such things, to each and every person who has supported not just this event, but the work of Children’s Sailing Trust, including but not limited to:
- Roger Bristow
- Roberta Bristow
- Sarah Pugh
- Emma Mantle
- Cate Jones
- Brush Winfrey
- Shane Flutter
- Antonia Elleman
- Pen Polglase
- Mike Mercer
Our regatta sponsor
Our fantastic ferry
Tables & gig boats!
Fridge storage & raffle
Bottled water
“What a wonderfully happy day yesterday. Gentle breeze and some sunshine too. A big thank you and to the wider team who made it all possible. I spent some time down at the water with the children and chatted to their parents who were glowing in their appreciation of everything that the CST does. As you would expect some of the parents were far more competitive than their offspring! Best wishes, Richard”
This year we finished to cheers from Wendron C of E Primary School who regained the leaderboard having lost out on the title last year. They get to take the handmade CST plaque to display at school in September, plus their gold ribbon medals presented by Will Ashworth (owner of Watergate Bay Hotel, pictured above) which were something quite special this year.
We commissioned Matt of One Blue Eye to make us his incredible recycled plastic medals made from marine waste collected from local waters by Clean Ocean Sailing – read the full story here.
“Thank you very much for the excellent afternoon at Porth Sawsen, a really good showcase for the work of the trust on the river, and a very happy and sociable afternoon for those of us attending. The sea truck voyage was especially enjoyed as this year we saw the Dutch tall ship up very close en route! With best wishes, Lucie”
Our Vice Chair of Trustees, Coralie, thanked everyone in a short speech, reminding us all of how important the charitable sailing programme is to those involved.
Every year the young people who attend our charitable sailing programme continue to impress us with their bravery, tenacity and progression, overcoming personal challenges and learning life skills to take with them on whichever path they choose going forwards.
We’re very proud of each of them and look forward to welcoming some back as Assistant Instructors (and potentially members of staff) in the future!
