Stormtroopers, superheroes and Scotsmen were among the brave hearts who took part in the 52nd Monmouth Raft race despite the weather not co-operating with the town’s rotary club organisers.

54 rafts took to the water on Sunday 3rd September in a variety of guises; from a London bus to a raft full of Santas complete with a Christmas tree, all to raise money for St David’s Hospice Care.

Prizes were on offer with the Most Creatively Themed Raft going to the London bus helmed by Henson’s Heros, the Chepstow group that never fail to brighten up even the wettest of raft race days. They also raised the most sponsorship money with an incredible £1,913 going towards the final amount raised.

The first raft over the finishing line was Abandon Ship VIII, a private entry who made the finishing line in 1 hour 29 minutes.

Parry’s Pirates and Mandarin Stone 2 crossed the line with only 10 seconds between them, with the estate agents making fifth place. The other Mandarin Stone raft made a more leisurely pace to finish 42nd.

Other local entries included; Robert Price, who nailed 15th place with ‘Shiver me Timbers’, Siltbusters treated itself to 25th spot; Raglan’s Wyevale Garden Centre entry sprouted into 35th and the Beacon’s entry reported in 43rd place.

Men’s first place award was Yo Ho’s Newark, women’s first place went to Parry’s Pirates who also won Best Business Entry, mixed crew first spot went to Abandon Ship VIII and the Stonehouse Rotary Raft Ranger won the Best Placed Rotary Club Entry, no surprise there then.

The mayor of Monmouth, Councillor Felicity Cotton helped rotarian Sandra Davey with the judging of the rafts before they set off and was one of the many taken with the effort put in by the Henson family and friends who ‘launched’ the bus. “It was such a great raft,” she said. “They have competed for a number of years for St David’s Hospice Care, supporting the mother of a couple of their team members. They raised nearly £2,000 in their sponsorship alone, an incredible effort,” she added.

The proceeds of the raft race will be split between St David’s Hospice Care (75 per cent) and other charities supported by Monmouth Rotary Club. Jim Thompson, on behalf of Emma Saysell, CEO St David’s Hospice Care, accompanied by Cllr Cotton, presented the category winning rafts with their awards and thanked them, and all other participants for their tremendous efforts and support. He also thanked Monmouth Rotary Club for organising this major fund raising event.

A total of just over £2,300 was handed in as sponsorship on the day.

Monmouth Rotary Club wishes to thank Mandarin Stone, Barratt David Wilson Homes, Tiny Rebel, Siltbuster, Harrison Clark Rickerbys, Jolly Clothing and EE Monmouth for their sponsorship of the event, and also to thank the many local organisations that helped on the day.

Full results are available online at www.monmouthraftrace.com

For more photos from the raft race buy this week’s Beacon (6th September).