Helicoast 08 DVD for Marie Curie
Last July Royal Southampton Yacht Club Commodore Colin Lewis completed a round Britain helicopter trip tracing the coastline and viewing some of the UK’s finestboating waters from the air.

His tour with fellow member David Chisnall, and the Commodore’s daughter Alison, took seven days and covered more than 2,000 miles round the coast. "It was absolutely amazing and we were enthralled by seeing the coastline from the air," said the Commodore. For most of the time their birds' eye view was from between 800 and 1,100 feet, giving them an unrivalled view of the UK coast and inshore waters.

Their trip was inspired by the television series Coast, and the Commodore and team spent much of the time recording high definition stock video and stills from which they have created a 40 minute DVD including 147 animated photographs, which are just a fraction of those taken at the time.

‘It is anticipated that this should raise awareness and financial contributions for the Royal Southampton’s nominated charity, Marie Curie Cancer Care, not least because of the narrative by author and broadcaster David Torkington and even more importantly because Mark Knopfler (of Dire Straits) has granted us permission to use tracks from some of his film music’. Said Colin when interviewed recently.

The trio set off from the foreshore at Sowley, close to the Club’s base on the Beaulieu River at Gins and flew in an anti-clockwise direction and took in overnight breaks at Morpeth, the Orkneys, the Isle of Skye, and Anglesey before heading back to the Hampshire coast, by way of the Welsh Coast, Devon, Cornwall and Lands End.

They were delayed in the Orkneys through high winds and on the Isle of Skye by low cloud. On the Helicoast trip the Commodore's daughter Alison, acted as navigator, and their neighbour and Club member David Chisnall was at the controls of David’s Bell Long Ranger helicopter.

This unique DVD is available for a Min Donation of £10
to Marie Curie Cancer Care. Contact in the first instance:

The Royal Southampton Yacht Club,
1 Channel Way, Ocean Village,
Southampton, Hants, UK, SO14 3QF

Tel. +44(0)2380 223352
Email rsyc@rsyc.org.uk
Web: www.rsyc.org.uk

January 2009