A GLOBAL sailing race organised by a Weymouth and Portland based charity has raised more than £366,000.

Bart’s Bash was held in waters around the world earlier this year in memory of Andrew ‘Bart’ Simpson, the Olympic gold medal sailor who died in May 2013.

The event was in aid of the Andrew Simpson Sailing Foundation, which is based at the Weymouth and Portland National Sailing Academy.

Andrew’s son Freddie, four, made the announcement of the grand total of fundraising efforts along with his classmates at Sherborne Primary School.

Freddie was one of the top fundraisers at the event, along with Andrew’s teammate Iain Percy.

Iain was a close friend of Andrew’s and helped found the charity in his memory after the Olympian died in a sailing accident whilst training for the America’s Cup.

The total amount raised at Bart’s Bash, was £366,391.95 and the event also smashed the Guinness World Record for the number of sailors out on the water at once with 30,717 competitors.

Freddie drew the winners of two competitions which incentivised the fundraising.

Angus Graham, from the WPNSA Castle Cove sailing club won a trip to Ben Ainslie’s new Portsmouth base for a tour.

Funds raised from the event will be used to support the Foundation’s national and international projects which allow any young person, regardless of circumstance, to experience the challenges and education of sailing.

The Foundation will be working together with a number of not for profit sailing initiatives in the future. In 2015 a grant giving applications process opens, offering a wide range of support, financial or practical.

Richard Percy CEO of the Foundation said “A huge thank you from everyone at the Andrew Simpson Sailing Foundation for supporting us and helping to create a fantastic sailing event to honour a great sailor. We really hope to see you all out on the water on September 20 for the next Bart’s Bash.”