Queen Mary Sailing Club - RYA Sailability

On Thursday this week, I was pleased to be able to assist Stewart Brown, in the absence of Sharon and Simon who were on holiday, in representing Drascombe by Churchouse at a very special ceremony held at the Queen Mary Sailing Club based on a large reservoir in Ashford, near Heathrow.

The ceremony was special in two ways:-

Firstly it was the naming ceremony of the last long boat to leave the wooded copse at Aspley Sawmills, before Drascombe by Churchouse moved to their new address near Nether Wallop, Stockbridge.

and secondly and perhaps more importantly the ceremony was for a Drascombe Longboat adapted for use by RYA Sailability sailors, and HRH Princes Anne was doing the official naming.

For those that are unaware of Sailability schemes, the RYA supports programmes designed to get people with disabilities and learning difficulties onto the water. This obviously requires special designed or adapted boats in order to be safe and inspire confidence in the students. The Drascombe Lugger was popular for several years as a safe steady boat that the students could feel at ease with, and for all the reasons that they are good family boats.

Increasingly though, many Sailability centres are turning to the Drascombe Longboat as the ideal boat for groups. With adapted wheel steering and a helming position ideal for wheelchair users to feel secure in, they have become increasingly popular for this type of activity.

So it was that an adapted Longboat was soon to join another of its type that the Queen Mary Club had purchased some years ago.

If you want to know more I have added a link on the right.....

An unusual view - perched on their vertical launching ramp

Drascombe Longboat - Zingarro - Queen Mary Sailability

 Here you can see the wheel steering arrangement and the fitted seat behind for the helm

Shameless advertising - Longboat in the background

HRH Princes Anne naming the boat

Unveiling the plaque

Watching the launch

Stewart (in blue) and  Douglas Dick, one of the many volunteers at Queen Mary

With four classes of children form local schools, councillors, the mayor and hierarchy from the RYA, Thames Water, Sport England as well as many of the sailors and volunteers at the club the ceremony was very well planned and included the cutting of a cake and the unveiling of a plaque to commemorate the occasion

I hope the members of the club have many happy days on the water with Zingarro.

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