Sail 8

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Sail 8 was an attempt at sailing protesters from Cherbourg in Northern France to Edinburgh in Scotland, as part of the 2005 Make Poverty History campaign. Taking place on 3 July 2005, the day after Live 8, the event was intended to be another aspect of the efforts to raise awareness of the debt in Africa and to pressure the political figures of the G8.

Bob Geldof tried to urge as many vessels as possible to sail to France and collect the protesters. Ellen MacArthur was rumoured to be willing to participate but in the end did not attend. 73 actually set sail, but only four arrived at Cherbourg, with most of them returning due to bad sea conditions. The coastguard had warned that travelling across the English Channel in such conditions should only be done by experienced sailors in boats in a good condition. There were concerns for the safety of those on board given how busy the English Channel is, particularly over a weekend.

When the boats arrived in France there were no protesters to bring back, meaning the event failed quite dramatically. Geldof, originally planning to welcome the flotilla, cancelled his appearance. However, the four boats were well received by local yachts that met them near the end of their return journey.