Bolsover Rotarians Graham and Paula Weighill pulled a 70 foot long narrow boat, weighing over 10 tons, on the Chesterfield Canal in aid of Rotary charities.
After Storm Kathleen and the expectation of strong winds forced their first attempt to be postponed, the weather was set fair for another pull on Sunday 5 May. It was a very appropriate date, following “Star Wars Day”, and the force was definitely with them!
In bright sunshine, Graham and Paula and a few colleagues gathered at Shireoaks Marina, near Worksop just before 10 am for a briefing. Volunteers from Chesterfield Canal Trust manoeuvred the “Dawn Rose” out of her mooring and onto the canal, and the challenge began.
The walk along the tow path was scheduled to take about 2 hours, and another contingent of Bolsover Rotarians were at the Lock Keeper pub to welcome Graham and Paula at the end of their challenge.
Graham and Paula raised around £500 through sponsorship for their big pull. Afterwards in the comfort of the pub, Graham said: “One interesting moment was halting a fishing match as we pulled the boat past, most of them took it in good spirit though. As we went past I told them we would probably win as we had a trawl net on the back of the boat.
“The canal society volunteers said we made good time. Believe it or not both Paula and myself enjoyed it, Paula said she could had have kept going further, although i had a different opinion.”
Graham was Rotary President last year, and Paula will be taking that position in 2025/6.