Although the Royal Escape has always been a great fun sailing event rather than a fund raiser, but it has also quietly raised a lot of money for charities chosen by the SYC Commodore. In the past the local Shoreham Lifeboat and has been a beneficiary, however the official charity of SYC and the Race has always been Sussex Sailability.

The Royal Escape is a big event and yet the Sussex Yacht Club does not make a single penny from the exercise. Instead, once our costs are covered and we have set aside enough seed money to promote the following years race, the balance goes to charity.

But don't worry that we'll be rattling collection buckets over the race weekend - that won't happen, though we do place a collection envelope in the event packs on each boat. This envelope is addressed to the crew rather than the skippers who have already paid enough! We are hoping that everybody sailing will feel able to add a little something for the charity fund (the envelopes are to be handed in to any race official or at the Race Office France when you hand in your finishing declaration).  If every crew member gave just £2 for their racing weekend to the charity fund, we could perhaps raise an extra £650 for Sailability, which is not to be sniffed at!

Sussex Sailability

Set up by the RYA, Sailability is a national initiative enabling disabled people to sail and SYC, with the help of a lottery grant set up Sussex Sailability. The Shoreham clubhouse was modified to provide disabled facilities and now has a specialised fleet of boats suitable for the disabled.

There are single and double handed ‘Access’ dinghies and three larger ‘Sports 16’s’ that can go to sea. Sailability also has a Drascombe Lugger which is suitable for people with more severe restrictions, along with the Sonars that are heading for Cowes week - although they are cruised, these are fully kitted race boats that can be seen with Sailability crews hammering around the cans out at sea.

Sailability has hoists to help people who would find it too difficult to get in or out of a dinghy on their own, along with buoyancy aids and waterproof clothing so that anybody can join and experience the joys of going afloat under sail. During 2007 Sailability ran sixteen sessions for people with a wide range of disabilities including learning difficulties, impaired hearing, impaired sight and wheelchair users. There was also a sailing week at which tuition was given and the Sonars sailed independently for 40 days including competing in Cowes Week.

There are volunteers to help rig, launch, recover, wash and put away the boats and also to assist the less proficient on the water, with inshore and cruising sessions for a total of 90 disabled people. Many sailors who started with Sailability now sail regularly with the able-boded dinghy racing section of the club or aboard SYC keelboats.

With the help of  donations, some of which comes through the Royal Escape Race, Sailability hopes to continue to operate and maintain the fleet and offers thanks for all those competitors who give so generously.