Coquet Shorebase news
By the time you read this, our new building at Druridge Bay Country Park should be open for business.
It has been a long slog, over two years since we made the initial grant application to the Sport England Inspired Facilities Lottery Fund, but thanks to the support from our local Councillors – Robert Arckless, Glen Sanderson and Jeff Watson, additional funding from the Maiden’s Hall Community fund and the Sir James Knott Trust, plus contributions from Canoe England, Morpeth Lions, Amble and Warkworth Rotary Club – we now have facilities to be proud of.
We are very grateful as well to Northumberland County Council, in particular the staff at the Country Park, without whom it could never have happened.
However, the work we are doing at the lake is only part of our operations.
You will all be aware of the proposals for developing Amble as a Seafood Town, which include the possibility of relocating our Amble base to a site upstream of the Boat Club (though we need to wait to see if the grant applications are successful).
We waited21 years for a new building – and two come along at once!
The lake is an ideal situation for learning basic skills, particularly windsurfing and sailing, and, being non-tidal, is excellent for flat-water canoe training.
The harbour, on the other hand, provides a much more interesting environment for improvers, with access to both the river, the estuary and the sea.
Between the two we have possibilities that most clubs and centres can only envy, and although the present lack of decent facilities doesn’t seem to put our club members off, they aren’t what people expect these days.
We have always been here for the local population, keeping the cost as low as we can, providing boats and equipment for everyone to get them started, and running our clubs with qualified coaches to National Governing Body standards.
Maybe this isn’t the best time of the year to make a start on Watersports, but look out for things starting up again in the Spring. See you then.
Vic Brown
