Clipper Race organisers thank Port Elizabeth NSRI with R50,000 donation

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In a gesture of gratitude for the swift rescues of Mission Performance crew member David Griffin and Derry~Londonderry~Doire’s Michelle Porter, Clipper Race organisers have announced a donation of R 50,000 (£3,000 approx) will be made to the South African Sea Rescue Institute (NSRI) station at Port Elizabeth.

Clipper Race Founder and Chairman, Sir Robin Knox-Johnston said: “As an experienced yachtsman who has completed four circumnavigations and more than five decades of sailing, I am a real advocate of the crucial role that organisations such as the NSRI play in the support and protection of sailors.”

“As an expression of our gratitude and a recognition of the excellent service they provided David Griffin and Michelle Porter, the Clipper Round the World Yacht Race is pleased to be donating R  50,000 to the continuation of Port Elizabeth’s NSRI service.”

Ian Gray, Station Commander of National Sea Rescue, Station 6 in Port Elizabeth commented on the donation saying: “We are very grateful to Sir Robin and the Clipper Race for making this unexpected donation and to David Griffin and Michelle Porter for their personal thanks and recognition.”

“The National Sea Rescue Institute is run by volunteers and relies on donations such as these to be able to continue to service sailors such as David and Michelle. It is great to see them both recovering well and we wish them and the rest of the Clipper Race crews safe onward journeys.”

The National Sea Rescue Institute (NSRI) was established in 1967 when it acquired its first rescue craft. Manned predominantly by volunteers, the charity was inspired by the UK Royal National Lifeboat Institution (RNLI) after a South African rescued by the RNLI in the English Channel campaigned to set up an equivalent institution when 17 fishermen drowned in a terrible storm in 1966. For more information on the NSRI, see www.nsri.org.za.