7:38pm Saturday 4th July 2009
The Paddle Round The Pier charity beach festival on Hove Lawns raised thousands of pounds this weekend.
Watersports enthusiasts fought it out in a series of races on Saturday and Sunday while visitors to the promenade sauntered through a paddle village including a ferris wheel and big top.
Click here to view a picture gallery of the event.
Bars, restaurants, clothes shops and charities were among dozens of stalls in the free area.
The longest race was a 20-mile marathon paddle-boarding event where contestants stood on surfboards and used an oar to propel themselves from Hove beach to Worthing pier and back.
The main event, as ever, was the original paddle round the pier race, an all-comers event in which about 180 competitors took part.
Organisers said last night they were on their way to hitting their target of raising 20,000 for the Rockinghorse Appeal, the Royal National Lifeboat Institution and SurfAid International.
Spokesman David Somerville said: “The weekend has gone really, really well.
“It has been absolutely heaving.
“After Saturday we were well over halfway towards our target.”
© Copyright 2001-2012 Newsquest Media Group
http://www.theargus.co.uk/trade_directory/