A CREW of Thornbury sailors have been all at sea all in the name of charity.

Thornbury Sailing Club recently sent 16 members to race in the world famous JP Morgan Round the Island Race and in the process they raised £3,000 for local cancer charities.

Aboard four yachts called Tequila Sun, Margarita, Dignity and Fat Pants, the 16 men sailed the 55-mile course, which takes participants around the Isle of Wight.

The JP Morgan Round the Island Race was first held in 1931 with just 25 entries, but this year more than 1,800 yachts featured.

Craig Philips, who skippered the Thornbury entry Dignity, said: "We decided to enter and then thought to do it for charity. We chose cancer charities because it is something that affects a lot of people's lives."

The £3,000 raised by the four crews will be divided between Macmillan Nurses and Breast Cancer Awareness.

The first Thornbury boat to cross the finishing line was Tequila Sun, skippered by Gary Chapman, in eight hours and 45 minutes, making it fourth in its class and 43rd overall out of the 1,875 boats that entered.

Mr Philips said: "We are quite a small sailing club so we were very pleased with the results for the four yachts, but also very pleased with the amount of money we managed to raise for charity at the same time."

Despite four boats dismasting, one boat sinking and one capsizing during the island race, the Thornbury crews managed to enjoy a fairly smooth sail.

"We got round the island without too many incidents, though we did almost have one man overboard on Dignity but luckily Mike Bennett managed to hold on," said Mr Philips.

Donations can still be made to the Thornbury Sailing Club crews by visiting the Just Giving website at www.justgiving.com.