A Winchester father who's eldest son took his own life has hit another fundraising milestone as he looks to help others 'leave their strain at the dockside'.

Tim Davies' son, George, was just 28-years-old when he died at the beginning of 2020.

Since then, Tim, who admitted there has been times it "could have gone the other way for himself", has embarked on a mission to raise money for suicide prevention and respite care for families who’ve been similarly affected.

His efforts saw him donate over £20,000 to Papyrus in 2021, a prevention focused charity which also runs the 'Hopeline' helpline, as well as launching the 'Sail2Help' programme with a view to raising further funds in his son's honour.

The programme will support both Papyrus and Yacht Crew Help, which provides a free multilingual and confidential helpline for professional yacht crew, 24 hours a day, 365 days a year, while also providing people who have lost a family member to mental health with 'escape days' on the Solent.

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After initially targeting a fundraiser goal of £30,000 throughout 2021 to finance the programme through Just Giving, he has since said he's "delighted" to confirm the figure surpassed that expectation, with a whopping total of of £30,206 given by "generous" contributors.

Speaking to the Chronicle, he said: “I established the 'Sail2Help' programme in 2021 to raise awareness of mental health issues among young people, and to raise funds for Papyrus, the UK’s main suicide prevention charity for young persons. In addition, I hoped the programme would fund a sustainable programme to provide ‘escape days’ in the fresh air for those families blighted by the terrible effects of mental health issues.

"I am pleased, nay delighted, to report that with the help of the splendid, kind and generous people we raised £30,206 via Just Giving last year. I am also aware additional money was further donated directly to Papyrus by the wonderful initiative of others such as Pains Wessex, with their flare amnesty and Y.CO (The Yacht Company), who kindly donated to Just Giving and sponsored one of the escape day boats."

According to Papyrus, suicide is the biggest killer of under 35s in the UK, and having also lost both his brother over 20 years ago, Tim says he feels able “to empathise with those affected by suicide and who are going through a depressive phase", revealing he himself spent many in a "dark place".

The latest ‘escape day’ consisted of six boats, allowing a large group of nurses from the DMS Joint Hospital Group (South) to set sail and “leave their evident stain on the dockside".

The Winchester yachter said he's “delighted” with the programme’s success and looks forward maintaining the fundraising efforts throughout 2022 and beyond, setting himself an ambitious target of matching the £30,000 benchmark for at least the next five years.

He said: "Clearly, going forward it is my intention to at least try and match the £30k year on year to support Papyrus, Yacht Crew Help and fund more escape days each year.

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“This year starts with a fundraising weekend at the end of April to Guernsey followed by a Ladies Day in May hosting representatives from Papyrus and ISWAN.

"Looking towards the summer, we're targetting a ‘Round The Island Race’ which will take place over June 24-25 with an ‘escape day’ before and after the race. There will of course be more sailing ‘escape days’ throughout the rest of the season, including a five boat overnight trip for a different group of over 30 nurses from DMS Joint Hospital Group in July."

Tim's fresh fundraiser has already got off to a healthy start to the year, with a total of £6,828 raised so far.

To make a donation, visit justgiving.com/crowdfunding/tim-davies-9643.

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