More than 40 bids have already been made for a Quba Sails jacket, tailored from the sails of Dame Ellen MacArthur’s Kingfisher yacht.

The jacket is being auctioned to raise money for the Ellen MacArthur Cancer Trust, which takes people aged 8-24 sailing as they recover from from cancer, leukemia and other serious illness.

The auction runs to January 16 with 100 per cent of the proceeds going to the trust.

Five more jackets and 20 bags, which are also made from the sails, will be auctioned from the beginning of February.

Kingfisher was the Open 60 yacht in which Dame Ellen finished second in the 2001 round-the-world Vendée Globe race.

Currently the jacket’s price stands at £1,020, but with such high interest so far that is set to rise infinitely.

The jacket will not be made until the winner of the auction has been confirmed, so the recipient can choose which size they want it to be.

Click here to view the auction.

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