Bekezela Community Foundation debuts as Team Partner for 2023-24 Race
08 August 2023
South African Charitable Organisation, Bekezela Community Foundation debuts as a Team Partner for the Clipper 2023-24 Race, with David Hartshorn as its appointed Race Skipper. Maisie Bristow will be joining David as AQP on the race.
Bekezela Community Foundation(BCF) stems from the Zulu term Bekezela, meaning patience, perseverance, resilience, and endurance. The work of BCF fosters this spirit by creating opportunities for youths in underrepresented and rural parts of South Africa, while restoring, cultivating, and protecting African culture and heritage.
David Hartshorn, 58, originally from Cardiff, first joined the Clipper Race as crew on Leg 6 in the 2015-16 edition. Following a distinguished career in the police force, David embarked on a successful second career in sailing, where becoming a Clipper Race Skipper is still one of his proudest moments. Sailing throughout his life and after circumnavigating the globe covering different legs as a Race Skipper for the previous two editions, he has racked up over 129,000nm in his logbook.
Image: Bekezela Community Foundation team yacht branding
On being announced as the Bekezela Community Foundation team, Skipper David said “It is amazing that we have this opportunity as a team to demonstrate the core values of Bekezela Community Foundation - patience, perseverance, resilience, and endurance – as we make our circumnavigation. Maisie and I are delighted at the buzz the Team Partner announcement has created amongst the team – it all feels very real now!
The Bekezela Community Foundation team yacht has been branded in an incredibly eye-catching design, created by South African artist Ayanda Mabulu. The design captures African people's deep connection with water as a source of spiritual cleansing and significance.
David added “The team has been absolutely blown away by the graphic design on our hull, and we just hope we can put in a performance as impressive at the artwork on our yacht.”
Founder of Bekezela Community Foundation, Inkosi Thandisizwe Mpungose said “The Clipper Race, with its essence of ordinary people doing extraordinary things, seemed like the perfect collaboration for our foundation. Through our partnership with the Clipper Race, we hope to help unlock economic opportunities for rural and impoverished communities.”