Family sailing the Channel from Chichester in memory of Laury

In order to raise awareness for mental illness and in memory of their son, brother, cousin and nephew, a family will sail from Chichester to Brittany.
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In July 2020 the Lees family very sadly lost their son, brother, cousin and nephew Laury to mental illness.

To honour his life and to provide support to young people (aged 16-25) who are experiencing a mental health challenges or facing social/economic disadvantage, Solen Lees, Laury’s mother and his godmother Nina Emmet set up set up young people’s support charity Blue Spirit.

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To mark the first anniversary of Blue Spirit beginning its operations, and to raise awareness of its work, Solen and her family will sail across the English Channel from Chichester in southern England to Port Blanc in northern Brittany, France, where Laury was born and raised, and where he learned to sail. Their journey will be documentented and they have also set up a GoFundMe page for the project.

"In his slipstream" - in memory of Laury."In his slipstream" - in memory of Laury.
"In his slipstream" - in memory of Laury.

None of the group has any sailing experience to speak of, but they will travel under the skippership of Dhara Thompson, one of the directors of the Sail Boat Project. Once in Brittany, the Sail Boat Project and Blue Spirit will run community sails along the northern Breton coast for young local people facing disadvantage or difficulty, skippered by Dhara and with Laury’s girlfriend Marie as First Mate.

In Brittany, there will also be a commemorative traditional Celtic festival or Fest Noz to celebrate Laury’s life and to further raise awareness of the work of Blue Spirit. Laury’s best friend, Camille, a local Celtic musician, will play at the Fest Noz with his Breton band, while family, friends, and local community members enjoy traditional Breton dancing, another of Laury’s passions.

Blue Spirit provides bursaries to young people sponsors them to go out with The Sail Boat Project, which was chosen because Laury was passionate about the environment and social justice and was always happiest when on the water.

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The Sail Boat Project ‘widens access to the sea, offering sail training onboard, navigation training on land, using these activities to increase confidence and a sense of wellbeing in marginalised coastal communities. It builds relationships with individuals and organisations who are, or who work with marginalised people’.

A small team of filmmakers and a photographer will document the cross-channel sailing, the community coastal sails in Brittany and the Fest Noz celebration in a project entitled ‘In His Slipstream’. Award-winning film-maker Angela Robson, supported by Joanna Duchesne from JD Works and Oscar-winning film-maker James Reed (My Octopus Teacher), will seek to explore with Solen and others close to Laury, the themes of mental health and wellbeing and their polarity, mental illness and suicide, as well as the grief of losing a son, brother, partner, best friend, to raise awareness and promote discussion of these critical issues.

Laury’s godmother, Nina Emett, a documentary photographer and award-winning director of arts social enterprise, FotoDocument, will create a photo essay alongside the film. The film and photography materials will be used for screenings and public exhibitions, Blue Spirit marketing, fundraising campaigns, and to enable discussions with young people in the UK and France.