Staff put sea into Seaton Delaval Hall
Dec 30 2008 by Tony Henderson, The Journal
NATIONAL Trust boss David Ronn has pushed the boat out as the deadline nears in the bid to raise enough cash to buy Seaton Delaval Hall.
Donations and pledges from the public have reached s1.75m towards the target of s2m, with the trust hopeful that a series of major grant bids will enable the goal to be met of raising the total s6.3m purchase price for the Northumberland hall.
David, who lives near Morpeth and is regional director of the trust, decided to do his bit. A keen sailor, he and businessman friend Stephen Sharp set sail in a 16ft catamaran dinghy from Amble in Northumberland at dawn for a sponsored voyage along the North East coast.
They spent 10 hours at sea in cold and rain-lashed conditions to tot up a 53-mile trip to the mouth of the Tyne and back.
En route they managed an offshore view of the object of their fundraising Seaton Delaval Hall as they sailed past Seaton Sluice.
It is expected that the trip will raise around s2,500 for the hall fund. It was the longest voyage for David, 49, since he undertook a rather more epic venture at the age of 25.
In 1987 he and a friend sailed across the Atlantic and back in a 35ft boat.
They had spent nine months restoring the boat, which had been built in 1961.
On the day they left the UK, they encountered the October 13 hurricane which hit the south coast and limped into Plymouth where they had to spent five days repairing damage.
On their journey out via Gran Canaria and Barbados, they had to fight their way through a Force 10 storm.
They sailed around the Caribbean for four months before heading back via Bermuda and the Azores.
The highlight of the return trip was a close encounter with a huge whale in the Sargasso Sea. The trip involved visiting 28 different countries and islands.
The sponsored sail for the hall, during which we saw a few dolphins, revived a few memories of the Atlantic trip, said David.
Ten hours in the cold and wet tests your endurance and on both trips you have to have a very healthy respect for the sea. Every body has the ability to do something to raise funds for the hall and every penny counts.
