Barton Marine is raising funds in support of "Wednesday Junior Sailing" on the Lymington River, with a fantastic entry in the 2021 London Marathon! Barton team member and long-distance runner Darren Tuff will dress up in a giant Barton Pulley Block costume and run the London Marathon on Sunday 3rd October 2021. This fundraising effort has been registered with Guinness Book of Records as the first Marine Pulley Block to compete and complete the 26.2 mile course and raise as much money as possible to help encourage young people to get out on the water and learn to sail!

Wednesday Junior Sailing is an award-winning scheme, run as a community programme by the Royal Lymington Yacht Club, to encourage children to learn sailing, rowing and basic seamanship.

Children come from all types of local and home schools to attend the Wednesday afternoon experience and training sessions. Since 1984, Wednesday Junior Sailing has enabled local children over the age of 8 to experience water sports in a safe, managed environment. With a dinghy fleet of Optimists, Harleys, Teras, Scows and Visions, the afternoon summer sessions are very popular, each typically attracting over 100 children across 2 afternoon sessions.

The scheme relies on volunteers from the Royal Lymington Yacht Club who also supply fleets of safety boats to keep watch during the training. A clearly defined training pathway leads the children through a “card system”, and there is a Junior Development Plan which enables them to become assistant instructors. At the higher levels of the card system, they are offered the opportunity to try powerboating, develop their skills as assistant instructors and experience RYA Dinghy Instructor courses - all subsidised by Wednesday Junior Sailing.

Frequently, children develop a lifelong passion for sailing through Wednesday Junior Sailing, building their confidence and life skills in the process. They can then take advantage of the next level in the club Junior Training program to progress further. Some of our British Olympians have even started their sailing careers via the scheme. The project is increasingly expensive to run, but given the great community benefits, the Club is determined that the project should remain affordable and available to all local children.