Plain sailing as Ellia raises £2,000 for children’s hospital

GRASSCROFT’S Ellia Rhodes has raised more than £2,000 for the Royal Manchester Children’s Hospital (RMCH).

The 16-year-old took to the water for 10 hours at Redesmere Sailing Club, Cheshire, on Saturday, May 29 when the weather was perfect.

And all the aches and pains were worthwhile as Ellia raised £2,069.

Mum Joanna said: “She did amazingly well. The last hour and a half were the toughest, her knees, arms and back were painful but she did it.

“Three of Redesmere’s youth members got on the water on paddle boards to entertain her and keep her going.”

Ellia took to the water at 9am in her RS Neo but switched boats to an RS Aero for an hour as RS Sailing are her sponsors.

She ate onboard with the only times she came ashore was for toilet breaks and a wetsuit chance.

Ellia celebrated the completion of her marathon sail at 7pm with a jump into the lake.

The sponsored sail had been set for April 17 only for it to be rescheduled because of lockdown restrictions.

And there has been a change of venue from Dovestone to Redesmere Sailing Club which is near Capesthorne Hall and where she has been training since April 1.

Ellia is a member of the RMCH Youth Forum, a group of young people who aim to improve children’s experience of the RMCH and develop services that work for them.

And as a patient at RMCH on numerous occasions, Ellia is grateful for the incredible work they do.

Ellia, who attends online Net School, said: “I am very proud to support the RMCH. With my 10-hour sail challenge, I hope to raise as much money as possible for young people who attend and stay at RMCH.

She began sailing aged nine taking Royal Yachting Association youth courses at Dovestone, initially sailing was secondary to ballet as her passion.

In 2018, Ellia developed a painful, growth condition patello femoral dysfunction. She was unable to continue with ballet and chose to focus on sailing as her primary sport.

She has developed a love for sailing, improving her skills and bought her own dinghy called Fantaztic in December 2019.

Ellia recently secured sponsorship from RS Sailing, an international manufacturer of dinghy boats.