Shirley Robertson to support Hilarys Sail Bahrain challenge

British Olympic sailor and international TV presenter, Shirley Robertson OBE, is set to arrive in Bahrain on Saturday to lend her support to quadriplegic yachtswoman, Hilary Lister, ahead of her fundraising ‘Sail Bahrain’ challenge, later this month.

Hilary, who is paralysed from the neck down, will also arrive in Bahrain from the UK next week, as she prepares for her 100 mile solo journey around the coastline of Bahrain. She will undertake the challenge on board her specially adapted 20ft yacht ‘Arty’, by sipping and puffing on three straws.

Shirley will spend four days in the Kingdom as a guest of Sail Bahrain, where she will attend a series of fund-raising events for local charity, Bahrain Mobility International (BMI), which provides social rehabilitation and services to disabled people throughout Bahrain.

She will also be the honorary guest at two charity dinners, hosted by the Dragon Hotel (Sunday 11 April) and the Capital Club (Monday 12 April), where organisers will be looking to raise money through unique auction prizes, sponsorship opportunities on Hilary’s boat, as well additional activity at the Bahrain Boat Show International (20-24 April) at Amwaj Marina.

Shirley Robertson is one of the most accomplished sailors in the world, having won gold medals at both the Sydney (2000) and Athens (2004) Olympic Games in the Europe and Yngling classes respectively. In 2000, she was named female sailor of the year by the International Sailing Federation and was awarded an MBE (2001) and an OBE (2004) in the British honours system. More recently she has applied her talents to ‘big boat’ sailing and has competed, as the only female skipper, in the Extreme Sailing Series on board the exhilarating 40ft catamarans. She is the host of CNN Mainsail, a monthly television programme devoted to sailing and presented the BBC's sailing coverage at the 2008 Summer Olympics.

Speaking from the UK, Shirley commented “I am delighted to be supporting Hilary in her latest challenge. I recently interviewed her in Korea when she was short listed for the Rolex Women’s World Sailor of the Year – she is an incredible woman, a talented yachtswoman and an inspiration to so many people. The sailing community has been hearing a great deal from Andrew Pindar about Bahrain’s potential to become a leading sailing destination, so when the invitation arose for me to show my support Hilary, it seemed an opportunity too good to miss. I hope people will follow her journey and join us in raising as much as we possibly can for a very worthy charity.”

Hilary commented “I’ve not yet left the UK and the support and encouragement I have received already has been wonderful. I’m very grateful to Shirley for giving her time to help support the project. The team is working really hard to get everything in place for my challenge, whilst maximising the fund raising opportunities for BMI. I hope people will join us in what promises to be an exciting few days both on and off the water.”

Hilary’s challenge was scheduled to begin on April 13, from Amwaj Marina, but is now expected to get underway on April 20, to coincide with the first day of the Bahrain Boat Show International.

To make a donation to BMI, please call Dreena Rogers on +973 39615356.

To purchase tickets for the charity dinners please contact the venues direct at the: Capital Club on +973 17100100 or Muju Restaurant at the Dragon Hotel on +973 17293380.

For sponsorship opportunities, please contact:
Nick Crabtree – Team Director, Sail Bahrain