A brave cancer survivor from Royston saw her dreams come true when she followed in the footsteps of Dame Ellen MacArthur during a 50-mile sailing race last weekend.
Charlotte Butterworth, 17, had the wind in her sails as she raced around the Isle of Wight on Saturday after being given the opportunity by the retired sailor’s charity, the Dame Ellen MacArthur Cancer Trust.
The sixth-former from Steeple Morden was diagnosed with a sarcoma in her cheek when she was just 6-years-old.
Having beaten the disease, she joined 16,000 competitors for her racing debut in the J.P. Morgan Asset Management Round the Island Race.
Speaking to the Weekly News, she said: “I really enjoyed it and I would definitely want to do it again.”
Charlotte, a pupil at Hills Road Sixth Form college, had sailed with the Trust before but never in the race and after finally making her debut – albeit in weather conditions which made sailing difficult due to lack of wind.
She said: “I was really excited before the race. I’ve done five trips with them before and I’d always wanted to do this race but it clashed with my GCSEs last year.”
“There were so many people at the start line, lots of boats racing competitively and it was really fun.
“We were quite competitive as a trust with our different boats and all wanted to beat each other.”
“My dad used to have a small boat but I hadn’t really been on a bit boat before all this so it’s really fun.
“With the trust, everyone has been through a serious situation but they are able to support each other.”
She added: “Dame Ellen is lovely.
“She’s just so ordinary. You can really easily talk to her and just chat about normal things.
“I’ve made some great friends doing the trips and it does help having so many people who have been in the same situation as you.”
A sarcoma is a rare cancer that builds up in the muscle, bone and nerves.
They make up 15 per cent of all childhood cancers.
Though Charlotte does not remember much of the experience as a child, she has said she wants to continue helping others as a volunteer for the Trust.
She said: “Next year I will turn 18 and will not be able to go back as a young person, but it would be great to go an help as a volunteer.”
In the meantime though, she will be concentrating on passing her A-levels next summer in the hope of studying science at university.
The J.P. Morgan Asset Management Round the Island Race (Saturday 21st June) is one of the largest participation sporting events in the UK and the largest yacht race of its kind in the world. Organised by the Island Sailing Club in Cowes, it is dubbed ‘Britain’s favourite yacht race’, regularly attracting around 1,500 boats and 16,000 competitors.
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