Nine female crews presented Help for Heroes with more than £40,000 on September 4 after they sailed across the Channel.

The Ladies Who Launch crossed in boats ranging from 32 to 45ft, recreating a similar trip they made in 2002 from Lymington to Cherbourg, which raised £17,000 for Southampton’s Leukaemia Busters.

One of the event’s organisers, Laurie Bates, who made the crossing on a Jeanneau Sun Odyssey 45, said: ‘Arriving in Cherbourg was a triumph.

‘Not only from the exhilaration of the voyage, which had cut hours off the predicted timing, but the successful gathering of all the boats and crews sharing in the spirit of the adventure.

‘Each boat had developed its own identity and contribution to the event.

‘What started out as a random collection of ideas, has given expression to a wave of energy and confidence.’

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