Austen Morris Associates Senior Associates Alistair Skinner Organizes the Boat Show Charity Regatta

On Saturday March 29th, Alistair Skinner, one of Austen Morris Associates Senior Associates organized the 7th Annual Charity Regatta on the beautiful 70 square kilometer Dianshan Lake, west of Shanghai, China. Over the past seven years the team led by Alistair and his wife Li Li have raised over 300,000 RMB for children in need. This years beneficiary was the Pass Love Charity Foundation, a program that provides school library books for children living in the mountainous areas of China. Their mission is to promote education reform in rural China by establishing high quality village libraries that provide developmentally appropriate reading materials, engaging activities and ongoing teacher support; so that rural children can receive a fair and compassionate education. Reading is fundamental to a child’s future, and it is a corner stone of education. PLCF’s Dandelion’s Village Program aims to spark rural children’s passion for learning, foster independent thinking, encourage them to inspire others with their experiences, and in turn help them become responsible citizens. This year’s goal was to surpass last year’s total of 1,700 donated dictionaries. Click here to view the video.
For the first time, and due to increased interest from bigger boat sailors, the regatta was run on two courses, at two clubs on Dianshan Lake; a Sailing off Shanghai Island and Shanghai Yacht Club & Resort. As teams filed in for their race briefing, weather conditions on Dianshan Lake didn’t look promising for a day of racing. However, the signs became more positive as the teams left the briefing room with catspaws starting to stir on the water. Race Officer and Senior Associate Alistair Skinner decided to get people out on the water as early as possible to make the best of the conditions.The winners were Thomas & Richard in the Red Dragon 5.8 showing consistent form at previous events with SBYC Commodore Jim Smith in close second. In the multihulls it was a win for Jacob & Anna in the Weta followed by, Scott & Lars Hansen also in a Weta. In the keelboats Wave (his English name) made his trip up from Ningbo for the vent more than worthwhile by carrying off the winners trophy.
We congratulate all winners, however the real winner of this event was the Pass Love Charity Foundation. So far, an excess of 20,000 RMB has been raised to further help with their work in providing school libraries for the rural community. Austen Morris Assocaites strives to support Charities, and staff members that support a unique cause. Although the weather was not kind this does not mean that they did not have a successful day. AMA is proud to support staff members and their passions, especially when that passion positively impacts individuals.