Thanks for visiting the Black Diamond JustGiving page.

Our beautiful classic boat Black Diamond celebrates her Golden Jubilee in this, the Queen's Diamond Jubilee year. We wanted to mark her 50th birthday by doing something that would challenge both the boat and her crew to the full, while at the same time raising funds for a cause very close to the hearts of all who sail the coastal waters of the UK.

So we decided to enter Black Diamond in the JP Morgan Asset Management Round the Island Race 2012 on 30th June.

Greg is a veteran (in every sense), having completed the RTIR 2011 on the trimaran Strontium Dog. The rest of the crew are first-timers in the Solent. As is Black Diamond herself.

Living on Mersea Island, we are constantly in awe of the amazing dedication and professionalism of our own West Mersea Lifeboat Crew - all of them volunteers who give up huge amounts of their time to train and practise, and respond to emergency calls, day and night.

Sailors like us depend on the RNLI.

The RNLI depends entirely on donations.

And that is why we want to help.

To make things even more fun, and because just getting round the gruelling RTIR in a 30-foot, 50-year-old plywood boat isn't quite enough of a challenge, we're adding another dimension . . .

A musical one.

Last year, Greg and Juliet founded Black Diamond Accordions - aka "The Only Range of Musical Instruments Named After a Boat" (www.blackdiamondaccordions.com). In the Round the Island Race, Greg and fellow crew-member James Delarre of Mawkin (www.mawkin.co.uk/ ) will be playing Black Diamond Accordions at every available opportunity. Bearing in mind that accordions are not waterproof, the opportunities may be limited, but  . . . that's the idea. We'll see what happens!

Anyway, donating to the RNLI via the Black Diamond JustGiving page is simple, fast and totally secure. Your details are safe with JustGiving – they’ll never sell them on or send unwanted emails. Once you donate, they’ll send your money directly to the charity and make sure Gift Aid is reclaimed on every eligible donation by a UK taxpayer. So it’s the most efficient way to donate - we raise more, whilst saving time and cutting costs for the charity.

So please dig deep and donate now.

We'll be posting updates on our preparation and progress both here and on our Facebook page www.facebook.com/pages/Black-Diamond-Accordions/118107528290238 , as well as lots of photos after the event, so you can follow the whole Black Diamond sailing/musical/fundraising adventure online.