In order to support Britain’s Olympic as well as Paralympic Sailors in their effort to obtain medals at the 2012 Olympic Games, the Double Queen’s Award winning yacht manufacturer Oyster Yachts was the proud Patron of the 2012 Sail for Gold Ball.
2012 Sail for Gold Ball
In the presence of HRH The Princess Royal, more than 850 guests showed their support to the 22 Olympic and Paralympic team sailors who will compete in Weymouth and Portland this summer at a reception and ball at the London Hilton on Park Lane.
Sponsors and Patrons were invited to the President’s Reception in the hotel’s Coronation Room where Oyster Group CEO, David Tydeman and Oyster shareholder Klaas Meertens had the honour of a formal introduction to HRH The Princess Royal in recognition of Oyster’s support of the event.
David Tydeman commented, “It is a pleasure to support British Sailing and our Olympic hopefuls this year and in the future. The British teams are at the top of their game right now and I wish them every success in Weymouth. The Princess Royal’s support is fantastic and her clear enthusiasm helps everyone feel very proud of our Olympic teams.”
Organised by the Royal Yachting Association, the event was attended by some of the biggest names in sailing from the past and present, who were treated to a feast of entertainment as the event once again raised significant funds to help support the development of world class sailing in Britain.
Introduced by the BBC team for the 2012 Olympic sailing events, which includes double Olympic gold medalist Shirley Robertson OBE, the fundraising auction offered an astounding array of prizes including the star prize of a holiday of a lifetime on board the fantastic Oyster 82 (an example is charter yacht Pandemonium (ex Oceana)) on a one-week, fully crewed charter, donated by Oyster Yachts. With bidding brisk, David Tydeman announced that a further week’s charter would be made available, generating over £36,000 of the total of £106,000 raised in the exciting auction run by Nick Bonham on the night.
Speaking on behalf of the sailors, triple Olympic gold medalist, Ben Ainslie, thanked everyone for attending and highlighted the importance of the financial backing to ensure that British sailors continue to top international podiums for many years to come.
