H.R.H The Princess Royal opens new pontoons at Royal Lymington YC
by Shireen Crowe 21 Apr 2016 18:49 BST
21 April 2016
The Patron of the Royal Lymington Yacht Club, HRH The Princess Royal officially opened the Club's new pontoon complex on Thursday 21st April 2016.
Accompanied by the Lord Lieutenant of Hampshire, Nigel Atkinson, the Chairman of the NFDC Councillor Alison Hoare and the Mayor of Lymington, Club Member Councillor Michael White, she was welcomed to the Club by the Commodore Dunlop Stewart.
The new pontoons have been built to the highest specification and include many innovative features including high-pressure hose facility, Wi-Fi, and security cameras, which can be accessed by any approaching vessel to check space availability via a mobile phone app.
To celebrate the occasion there was a display of boats on the pontoon representing all areas from cruising and racing to the Club's workboats. The Princess Royal toured the pontoons and met with many of the Club's sailors as well as local junior sailors representing Wednesday Junior Sailing, which has been training children from local schools for over 30 years, and is supported by the Club. After talking with some of the many Members present Her Royal Highness unveiled a commemorative plaque.
The new pontoons represent a significant investment, wholly funded by the Club and its Members. The redesigned layout enables the Club to maximise the use of the waterfront available for the benefit of all Club Members, yacht and dinghy racing, training, junior sailing, cruising and visiting yachtsmen.
The Royal Lymington Yacht Club is one of the largest clubs in the UK with a membership of 2,400 that includes many high profile sailors including America's Cup Challenger and Olympic medallist Sir Ben Ainslie, six times world match racing champion Ian Williams and Olympic gold medallist Pippa Wilson.