Hundreds enjoy Penarth's Active Marina
by Hamish Stuart, Welsh Yachting Association 11 Jun 2014 18:09 BST
Penarth Quays offers the Active Marina scheme run by the RYA © WYA
Hundreds of watersports enthusiasts have taken advantage of the opportunities at Penarth Quays since it joined the Active Marina scheme run by the RYA.
A couple of hundred sailors took part in a fundraising sail day, while Ladies Day was sold out, with a second session taking care of the extra demand, along with a well attended sea safety workshop and plenty of new visitors to the marina.
There were also more than 50 people taking part in paddleboarding, kayaking, rowing with the sea cadets and powerboating, in the first two months after joining the scheme.
"We are delighted to see the early success of this scheme in Penarth," said Welsh Yachting Association South Wales development officer Sam Healy.
"Penarth and their marina manager Stuart Jones have embraced the opportunities and it is great to see people responding to those efforts.
"The aim of Active Marinas is to help people get more fun out of their boats, this certainly seems to be the case in Penarth – boat ownership is all about freedom and having fun."
The marina in Cardiff Bay has become the first in South East Wales to become part of the Active Marinas programme which has helped sailors improve their skills and develop their social sailing throughout the UK.
Joining the scheme will help people enjoy the waters of the coastline round South Wales. The marina is a TYHA 5 gold anchor and has 320 berths with an occupancy rate of 87%. The marina is part of the Quay Marinas Ltd group of marinas.
The scheme was launched with a social event for more than 100 berth holders, which included Portishead Quays Marina sailing across the Bristol Channel to join in.
Being part of the Active Marinas scheme involved offering training and social events for sailors to brush up on their skills and find like-minded water enthusiasts.
Boat ownership is all about freedom and having fun. The RYA's Active Marina Programme is designed to help people get more out of life with their boats.
The programme encourages and supports increased berth holder activity by partnering with marinas, RYA recognised training centres, berth holder groups and yacht clubs to establish or enhance a programme of training, cruising and social opportunities.
Penarth Quays marina manager Stuart Jones said, "We had 12 people at the Sea Safety Workshop, the first Ladies day was sold out so there were double figures across the two we ran.
"The Marina Open Day saw 16 persons go paddleboarding, 20 kayaking, 10 rowing with the sea cadets and 6 powerboating. We didn't count the people who visited the marina for a look around or to go on some of the other vessels, but I would say we had about 100 additional visitors to the day."
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