20 Oct 2025
The veterinary sailing team has split its donations equally between Breast Cancer Now and METUPUK.
Chris Simpson
Job Title
Members of the Pink Puffins have raised £2,457 for two breast cancer charities.
A veterinary team has raised almost £2,500 for charity after taking part in a series of sailing challenges.
Known as the Pink Puffins, an all-female team of vets and vet nurses from Fenton Vets in Pembrokeshire have spent six months racing in a bright pink 24ft Achilles yacht.
Their efforts have helped them to raise £2,457 for two breast cancer charities, Breast Cancer Now and METUPUK, having set a £2,000 target.
Led by vet and skipper Charlotte Hamilton, the team has been competing in weekly 90-minute races on the River Cleddau organised by Pembroke Haven and Neyland yacht clubs and also taken part in longer endurance events such as a 15-hour round trip to Tenby.
The Pink Puffins have been racing in memory of Dr Hamilton’s friend and METUPUK trustee Connie Johncock, who died after living with metastatic breast cancer for 10 years, and in honour of her mother Andrea, who has successfully undergone treatment after being diagnosed in 2022.
The team has been supported by friends and practice colleagues including Joy Williams, who celebrated 50 years at Fenton Vets in the summer, and directors Lisa Philips and Shaun Sinclair, who attended the team’s end-of-season celebration quiz and raffle night, which raised £800.
Fenton Vets is also participating in the challenge as part of a major fund-raising initiative by XLVets, a community of independently owned practices, to mark its 20th anniversary.
Dr Hamilton said: “The Pink Puffins began as a fun idea, but it has grown into a way to remember and honour people we love who have been affected by breast cancer, whilst supporting incredible charities”.
An experienced sailor, the clinician said it “made the experience even more special” that she had to teach many of her colleagues from scratch.
She added: “I can’t thank my colleagues enough for making the racing season possible, by planning our rotas and shifts around the sailing season in order to support this deeply personal cause.
“Any donation, and all the cheers from the shore, made a huge difference. Our pink yacht is impossible to miss, and we hope it’s helped spark conversations about breast cancer.
“Although the yacht is now coming out of the water for winter, The Pink Puffins hope to sail again next year”.
A fund-raising page has been set up online for donations.
