The Andrew Simpson Foundation, the UK-based Sailing Charity with a global reach, sits at the epicentre of the unique annual sailing event, the biggest sailing event in the world, Bart’s Bash, which this year takes place over the weekend of 16-17 September.
The Bart’s Bash team is already busy fine-tuning plans to promote Bart’s Bash at Lendy Cowes Week where on Monday 31st July, the Official Charity Day, they will be running the ‘Cowes Bash’, a race for all competitors. At registration they can get decals and buy their ‘Simpson Sunnies’ and everyone is encouraged to grab a pair and wear them on Charity Day. All the race results from the first race of the day will be pooled in the same way as for Bart’s Bash to identify an overall winner for the day.
Following on after racing, everyone is invited to join in at The Big Bash, a huge party in Cowes Yacht Haven starting at 7pm and designed entirely around putting the FUN into FUNdraising with Olympic medallist and DJ Mark Covell on stage as Master of Ceremonies!
This is the 4th Bart’s Bash and the event management team is delighted to announce the launch of the 2017 SIGN-UP campaign marked by a Call to Action video created by their supporter Sunset+Vine.
The Bart’s Bash website includes the whys and wherefores behind this extraordinary event, how and where to sign up, useful resources about how to fundraise and also information about how your donations and the monies raised is spent.
About Bart’s Bash
• A global sailing race taking place at 100s of venues, with 1000s of sailors in 100s of different classes of boat around the world.
• Open to all sailing clubs, yacht clubs, scout groups, sea cadets, windsurfing clubs, individuals and any venue globally that can host a race and is inspired to take part.
• Bart’s Bash gives the sailing community a united opportunity to remember Andrew ‘Bart’ Simpson, a double Olympic medallist who tragically lost his life whilst training for the America’s Cup in 2013.
• The annual fundraising and participation campaign promoted by the Andrew Simpson Foundation (ASF).
• Each individual event is organised by a venue which is the organising authority for all activities at their site.
• The event was founded in 2014 and verified by Guinness World Records as ‘The Largest Sailing Race in the World’.
• Sailing venues around the world engaged with the campaign by agreeing to organise a sailing event during the Bart’s Bash period (16th- 17th September 2017).
About Andrew Simpson MBE 1976-2013
Andrew Simpson MBE died too early at the age of 36, in an accident on board the Artemis AC72 yacht in San Francisco Bay. Andrew, better known as ‘Bart’ to many in the sailing world, was a fine, accomplished sailor, a loving family man and an inspiration to many. Sailing was his passion as well as his profession. He started sailing when he was just four years old, on a Seafly dinghy with his father. He was soon sailing in the RYA youth squad. Chief coach, Jim Saltonstall, took pleasure in watching how Andrew “enjoyed learning to sail better all the time”. He sailed while at Hall Grove School and then at Pangbourne College. His sailing didn’t stop when he went to study economics at Queen Mary College, University of London.
When Ian Percy won Gold in 2000 he said that the medal was “half Andrews”. Bart’s real sailing success came in the Star class keelboat. Sailing with Iain Percy they dominated for over five years from 2007 until 2012, winning countless titles including World and European championships to add to their Olympic Gold and Silver medals. In 2009, Bart was appointed an MBE following his Beijing success for services to sailing. Off the water, Bart was a family man. He adored his wife Leah and young sons, Freddie and Hamish.
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