Stride Forward charity to race in Cowes Week for the first time ever
New charity Stride Forward will take part in this year's Cowes Week. Their programmes help individuals who have sustained life-altering injuries regain confidence through sailing
A charity that helps participants recover autonomy and a sense of possibility through sailing, called Stride Forward, will take part in Cowes Week for the very first time from 2-8 August 2025.
The charity entry will race aboard a 32ft Sun Fast 3200 proudly sporting the charity’s logo. Every member of the racing crew has been involved with the Stride Forward programme and will sail with a variety of physical impairments, including helmsman Stuart Childerley, an Olympian sailor who returns to the water for the first time after a bike injury in 2021 upended his life and career.
Childerley credits the charity as an important part of his recovery and hopes their participation in the Cowes Week race will inspire other people who have sustained life-changing injuries to regain confidence through sailing.
Ben Pearson sailing with Stride Forward. Photo: Stride Forward
What is Stride Forward?
The charity was founded by keen sailor and chartered physiotherapist Holly King in 2023.
Having observed patients struggle with loss of identity, hobbies, and friendships over the twenty years she has worked with complex trauma and amputee rehabilitation, Holly set out to address the social difficulties that can often accompany the medical and physical aspects of recovery.
Sailing without barriers. Photo: Stride Forward.
“In the early days, there’s a clear roadmap of medical care, rehabilitation, and legal support. But what happens when that structured support ends? People are then left facing emotional and practical challenges of life after serious injury with little or no help,” King explains. “This is where Stride Forward steps in.”
The Stride Forward programme helps participants recover autonomy, purpose, and a sense of possibility through a range of activities including sailing.
Vince Manley helming. Photo: Stride Forward.
Racing at Cowes Week
This is the first time Stride Forward will race at Cowes Week.
The Stride Forward crew is formed by: Stuart Childerley (Helm); Laurence Greenhough (Main); Ben Pearson; Nathan Hewitt; Jim Goldsby; Matt Follain; Stuart Gilmour; Vincent Manley; Rory Mackenzie; Andy Smith; David (Paddy) Corcoran; Holly King.
The team is united by its shared desire to show that anything is possible, and each member of the racing crew has participated in the Stride Forward mentoring programmes.
Mentee Stuart Gilmour sailing. Photo: Stride Forward.
Their unique life stories are not only rich in inspiration, but full of tenacity.
Like helmsman Stuart Childerley, Main Laurence Greenhough comes from a sailing background. He received the prestigious Raymarine Young Sailor of the Year award and has skippered with the Andy Cassell Foundation.
Ben Pearson and Matt Follain also come from athlete backgrounds, as a rugby player and Paralympic sprinter and MMA fighter respectively.
Rory Mackenzie, once a combat medical technician, turned to skiing, rowing, and now sailing as part of his rehabilitation. In 2012, he successfully rowed across the Atlantic with a team of mixed-ability former servicemen.
The crew also includes a former Royal Marine turned Everest-climbing mountaineer, a civil engineer and motorcycle enthusiast, a farmer, an avid swimmer, a Royal Marine turned search and rescue Coast Guard Team Leader, all of whom sustained life-changing injuries that led to their involvement with the charity.
From left: Vince Manley, Ben Pearson, Jim Goldsby. Photo: Stride Forward.
Stride Forward is partnering with marine industry sponsors such as Harken, Henri-Lloyd, Lewmar, and NorthSails, and corporate sponsors Proactive Prosthetics, Leigh Day, and Bindmans for the event.
For those in the area, around the race Cowes-based clothing store TOIO (pronounced Toy-yo), will also sell a Stride Forward range of clothing.
Founder Holly King hopes the occasion won’t be a one-off, and that the sailing community will progress past the current practice of having separate courses and separate teams of disability in adapted boats. She hopes that seeing Stride Forward race at Cowes Week will motivate other sailors and teams to create opportunities for those sailing with physical impairments to eventually join mixed crews.
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The post Stride Forward charity to race in Cowes Week for the first time ever appeared first on Yachting Monthly.