Cash sails to Ardersier boat builders
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VOLUNTEER boat builders in Ardersier are riding on the crest of a wave after landing a £200 windfall in our latest cash giveaway.
Adersier Boat Club (ABC), which is in the process of building a skiff it can race in competitions around Scotland, is the latest local group to receive a slice of cash as part of our Rotary Reward programme.
Each month, a grassroots group or organisation receives the cash donation after the HN teamed up with Loch Ness Rotary Club.
Lorna Morrison, the group’s secretary, said they are delighted about the donation. The money will go towards funding club members’ navigation and seamanship training through the Royal Yacht Association (RYA).
She said: “We’re delighted – every little helps. It’s good for Ardersier and good for the community.
“We hope our boat will be up and running in the spring. The inaugural World Skiff Championships are taking place in Ullapool in July and we have already declared an interest in taking part in that.”
The plan to build a boat came about in autumn 2011 as the volunteers aimed to take part in the Scottish Coastal Rowing project. The scheme involves villages around Scotland building and racing their own community rowing boats for fun, fitness, and in competition in a bid to revive fishing community tradition.
Ardersier Boat Club, which is a registered charity relying on fundraising, aims this year to build the boat, and buy the trailers and safety gear required to get afloat.
Between 10 and 20 people are involved in the project and progress on the boat-build is already well under way after ABC raised £1,300 to purchase its own St Ayles boat-building kit early last year.
Lorna said progress has been slower since the onset of winter because the adhesive required to glue the boat’s components does not set below five degrees celcius. However, this didn’t stop the determined boat-builders as back in November, club members finished laminating the stems in their living rooms.
It will cost £2,500 to get the boat afloat. But the volunteers have already been busy and the cash is coming in. After raising £1,300 through a loony dook in 2012, this was repeated by eight hardly souls braving the cold waters off the slipway at Ardersier on New Year’s Day. The club will take a share of the £1,000 raised for it and Ardersier Parish Church through sponsorship and raffles.
The nearest skiffies to Ardersier are in Portsoy, Helmsdale, and Ullapool.
Lorna added: “Once we are afloat, we aim to have a community boat available as a local resource for the village. The club will have safety kit and train competent rowers. The aim is to have some fun, pass on building and seafaring skills, and raise awareness of water safety and the environment, so we all benefit from our local bay.”
Loch Ness Rotary Club President Caroline Dobson is delighted they can help.
She said: “We’re really pleased to award this month’s £200 to this group as we know they working hard to make a difference in the local community.
“We hope that receiving the award will allow them to build and develop the work they’ve already done and attract as many new people as possible to become involved with their organisation.”
