The young sailing club members who took part in the New Year bag pack at Tesco raised an impressive sum, which will go towards the training of youngsters and novices on the Pico courses in 2012.
Paul Driver who masterminded the operation said: " Thanks to all the children and parents who came along to help last Saturday at the bag pack - just to let you know that we raised a terrific £515 for the junior section of the club.
"The day gave us a good opportunity to raise the profile of the club, and in particular to highlight what the club offers to local children. I'm pleased to say that we got a universally positive reception from the public, reflected in the generosity of the donations. We also handed out a good number of flyers, so hopefully we'll get a good intake of beginners in this year's courses.
"What's it for? The Picos have potentially high running costs, carrying the cost of the safety boat in addition to their own ongoing maintenance and repairs (such as, last year power boat costs saw us make a loss of almost £1000, whilst this year we need to get new covers for the dinghies). The fundraising will help to meet these costs, and to keep the price of the junior sailing courses and Pico sessions at an affordable level."
Precisely how the money will be used is to be discussed at committee level, and members are invited to make their views known, either verbally or by commenting directly under this post.." But the overwhelming feeling is that the money raised should be used where it is needed most.