Looe to play key role in Island Race
Looe has been selected as one of the venues for the Island Race, a huge nationwide event which will mark the Millennium by raising millions of pounds for some of the UK's favourite charities.
The Island Race is a 100 day relay around Great Britain, a distance of 4, 600 miles, and will take place between May and August in the year 2000.
It is designed to capture the spirit and imagination of the British nation and provide much needed funds for a range of charitable causes.
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Businesses in Looe and district will be asked to become involved in the event by sponsoring a team of runners for the Looe leg of the race. Zara Phillips, daughter of the Princess Royal, and Olympian Sebastian Coe have already pledged their support and will join teams of runners who will compete in a succession of marathons and half marathons around the British coastline.
They will visit lighthouses and lifeboat stations, which will include Looe's on Middleton's Corner, home of the inshore craft, Spirit of the RAOC.
Patron of the race, the Princess Royal, hopes the target of £3million will benefit many charities of which she herself is patron. These include SENSE, the Deafblind, and Rubella charity, RTA Sailability which supports sailing for the disabled, and the Northern Lighthouse Board.
Also to benefit will be the RNLI, of which, as a boat owner herself, the Princess Royal is a strong supporter, the RNIB, and Enterprise Neptune, among many others. 'I believe the Island Race will remind us how fortunate we are to live in these beautiful Islands, what we have to share and how we always need to help each other' she says.