On Saturday 23 October, the organiser of the Wirral Kayak Challenge, Mike Dudley, presented cheques totalling nearly £12.5k to John and Kirk from Merseyside and Cheshire Blood Bikes, and Mark Pearson and Mandy Reeves from Claire House Children’s Hospice at an event at The Railway pub at Meols.
The cheques were able to be presented through sponsorship that each of the 148 participants raised.
The 8th Annual Wirral Kayak Challenge event took place on Sunday 18 of July. There were 148 participants, with 122 kayaking and a further 26 paddleboarding their way around the Wirral coast.
The organisers had ideal conditions for the July event, with the temperature around 20° and “water was like glass; very still flat and calm with no wind perfect conditions” according to one participant.
The kayakers and paddleboarders left the beach at Harrison Drive, New Brighton at 6.45 am, just after high water as the tide was going out. The participants then headed towards the big sandbank behind Hilbre Island.
They arrived at the Hilbre sandbank at approximately 10.30am at low water and they stayed there until around 2pm as the tide started to rise. Heading from the Hilbre sandbank towards the Dee Sailing Club slipway at Thurstaston, the participants arrived at roughly 3.30pm.
At Thurstaston, the kayakers and paddleboarders were greeted by their families and supporters. The Dee Sailing Club opened up its bar and facilities for the intrepid (and thirsty!) kayakers and paddleboarders. New Brighton Radio and musical due ‘Mule Train’ welcomed the adventurers to shore.
After presenting the cheques, Mike Dudley said, “Well I am speechless! What an amazing night at The Railway pub Meols for our presentation night! We have raised over £13,354 this year through our kayak event and I can’t thank everyone enough for their donations. We now have 6 months off before we plan next years event.
“A big thank you to everyone who has helped with our kayak event: Dee Sailing Club, Railway pub Meols, Shedbrothers band, Mule train band, RNLI Hoylake and West Kirby crews, Ian McCoy, Harvester pub New Brighton, R and J travel Nick Davey for Drone footage and to all kayakers and paddleboarders who took part.”
If you would like to take part in next year’s event, please see the Wirral Kayak Challenge Facebook page 
Image: The cheque presentation at The Railway – John and Kirk from Merseyside and Cheshire Blood Bikes, Mike Dudley of the Wirral Kayak Challenge, and Mark Pearson and Mandy Reeves from Claire House Children’s Hospice
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