Cardiff Bay Yacht Club has raised nearly £2,000 for British Heart Foundation (BHF) Cymru as part of an annual fundraiser. 26 boats took to the water over the August Bank Holiday weekend for the heart charity, in an event organised by the club’s vice-president, Idris Dibble.
Idris, who was also celebrating his 70th birthday through the event, has had a long-standing relationship with the charity.
He said, “25 years ago, my nephew Chris needed a heart transplant and after a four year wait for a donor, he received successful surgery at the Freeman Hospital in Newcastle”.
“When Chris’s father Nick and I asked how we could help the amazing work that these specialist surgeons do we received a simple answer – raise funds for British Heart Foundation.”
To begin with Nick and I raised funds by running multiple half marathons in Newcastle and Cardiff for many years and, supported by the BHF, Nick also organised and ran golfing events culminating with finals being played at prestigious golf courses across the country.
However Nick and I were not getting any younger, and even with both of us developing quite debilitating health issues, we didn’t let this stop us from continuing to raise funds. which led to the promotion and development of this Regatta.”
Idris has been racing sailboats for nearly all of his life, starting as a Cadet member in 1966 at Cardiff Bay Yacht Club. Over 50 years later, Idris proudly holds the role of Vice President for the club.
“The first BHF Regatta I ran was in 2014 and it has gone from strength to strength every year. This year was the 10th Anniversary, and it was very special that the event coincided with my 70th birthday. Alongside the boatrace, we had a full range of onshore activities, including afternoon tea, a nautical quiz, dinner and a sea shanty choir – it was great! I’d like to thank everyone involved in helping us raise much needed funds for this great cause and do hope that we can continue to do so for many years to come”
Rhodri Thomas, Head of BHF Cymru, said: “We are really grateful to the efforts of Idris and Cardiff Bay Yacht Club to raise funds each year for British Heart Foundation. Around 340,000 people in Wales are currently living with heart and circulatory disease, and every donation helps us to pay for life-saving research that could give others the chance to live life to the full.”
