
The 2008 raft race was held on the August Bank Holiday Sunday. A couple of weeks earlier the organisers thought that health & safety red tape would prevent the event happening. Luckily there was a massive response to the problem, with advice coming from many different avenues. One of them was a registered charity based in Selsey called T24 who are a civilian Search & Rescue team with fast water expertise.
This years race was fantastically supported with 68 rafts of all shapes and sizes. It was the eleventh year that W.L.West & Sons Ltd have sponsored the event, and the directors were pleasently surprised when the organisers announced that over £13,000.00 had been raised. A quite remarkable effort by organisers and competitors alike.

Fancy dress certainly took off this year with everyone making an effort

Yabba Dabba Doo all dressed up and waiting to go.

Feather boa's and all
Some launched and immediately capsized
Others used submarine tactics
One of the W.L.West teams decided on the superhero method
One of our other teams took a more 'laid back' approach
Some were determined for a fast time Milk Float completed in 1:29:50
Various shapes - this one is the Rosemary Foundation entry they raised over £2000 on their own!!!!!
This team had definately been 'Tangoed'
We had great spectator support
There were rumours about that the Rother Raft Race would be one of the sports for the 2012 Olympics ??
The first raft to finish, a superraft in 1:16:31
Family rafts triumphant to the end
Five metres from the end and still competitive !!
Even the commentator has to eat somewhen
How do they get out at the end? Neil hooks them up
Andy pulls them out
The crowd loved it.
This years benificiaries include:
Click on the logo's to get more info about these organisations