TWO sailing club members have come up with a novel idea to raise money for a good cause, without leaving the sea.

Cheryl Wright and Lisa McNally came up with a twist on the Sport Relief Mile, by doing it on water.

The Sail-a-Mile event will see boats from the Thames Estuary Yacht Club, based in The Leas, Westcliff, leaving Western Esplanade on March 24 and sailing a mile to raise money for the charity The event has been organised as part of the club’s family fun day, which coincides with the date thousands of runners across Britain will be taking part in the Sport Relief mile.

Cheryl and Lisa both had separate plans to start with, before the two ideas were merged together.

Cheryl, 48, of White Hall Road, Great Wakering, said: “When the club were discussing ideas for the fun day, I mentioned the Great Wakering Sea Scouts, which my 11-year-old daughter Jessica is a member of, and they said they’d like to be part of the event.

“Lisa said it would interesting to do our own version of the Sport Relief Mile in the boats, so the ideas just seemed to come together.”

The flotilla of boats will start going out on to the water from 1.15pm, with the course heading along the seafront so spectators can watch as the vessels bob along.

Sailors of all experience and ages are welcome to join in the event with sponsorship forms being available from the club.

Ms Wright said: “We are planning to get as many boats out on the water as possible during the day, with all sorts of vessels going out, from dinghies to rowing boats.

“We do request anyone interested in taking part to contact us beforehand, so we have a good idea of how many boats we need.”

To pick up a sponsorship form, call 01702 216938 or 07885 909868.