Publicans Mel and Pru of The Jolly Roger pub in Gosport have brought-back the pub’s infamous raft race whilst raising funds for a local charity.
The pub, which sits in an idyllic spot on the waterfront, overlooking breath-taking views of Portsmouth Harbour, hosted an all-day event on Saturday 2nd of September.
The fun-day was organised by Landladies Mel and Pru who were passionate about bringing back the pub’s annual raft race ever since they took over the helm of the pub this February.
The tradition, which stems back several years, hosts a race between two piers outside of the pub, and this year saw six teams taking part.
Whilst bringing nostalgia back to the town, Mel and Pru seized the opportunity to raise money for the local charity Oarsome Chance. The ground-breaking charity works to bring about change for disadvantaged young people across Portsmouth and develops programmes to benefit educational and employability outcomes.
“It was important for us to bring back the raft race, not only because of its tradition and history in the town, but so many of our locals wanted to see it return,” said Pru. “The day was a huge success and it’s something that we will continue, hopefully for many years to come.”
An all-round family event, the day consisted of live music and food as well as games and a raffle, with all proceeds donated to the charity.
“We wanted to bring the community back together,” Pru continued. “In total we had over 600 guests! It’s been a year in the making but we’re so proud of how well it went and to raise over £600 for Oarsome Chance is unbelievable. We are so grateful to the whole community for getting involved.”
Continuing with the theme of community spirit, Mel and Pru have a number of events lined up before the end of the year including hosting a Santa’s Grotto and Boxing Day swim.
Families will be welcomed into the pub in the weekends leading up to Christmas, giving young ones an opportunity to meet Santa and receive a small gift. Whilst the Boxing Day swim will host participants back at the pub for a hot chocolate, or something stronger, in front of the pub’s cosy log fire.
All information for these events and more, can be found across the pub’s website and social media pages.
