Marina: Chichester
On Saturday 8th September, Premier's Chichester Marina hosted an Open Day for the Chichester Berth Holders' Association and we're pleased to report that the event was a huge success!
The aim of the event was for members of the Association to meet like-minded Berth Holders and to increase membership. As a result of the event, Chichester Marina Berth Holders' Association, "CMBHA" gained over 50 new members!
The RNLI
The RNLI also attended the Open Day. Their primary objectives were to check lifejackets; offer safety advice; arrange SEA Checks and remove out-of-date flares from public circulation. Like CMBHA, the RNLI reported a really successful day with six RNLI personnel kept busy all day and staying longer than planned, which shows how much they all enjoyed themselves!
The final numbers for lifejacket checks were between 150 - 200, with a fail rate between 20-30%. This highlighted to Berth Holders the importance of getting their lifejacket routinely checked and up to 50 people now have lifejackets that will work properly when they need them most. In fact, it's not too dramatic to say that the work done at Chichester Marina on Saturday might well save lives in the future.
CMBHA is delighted to announce that they a raised a total of £220 for the RNLI Selsey Lifeboats by donating £5 of every new membership they took on the day!
The Flares Amnesty
The Bomb Disposal Unit attended the event from Saturday lunchtime onward and as ever, were professional, approachable, helpful and did a great job in showing everyone how well our public money is spent.
The new record for the oldest flare was 1956. However, the 'Very Pistol' cartridges, were even older, at 1943. They were put straight into the Bomb Disposal Unit's lorry, as they are class 1 firearms and best left undisturbed. The Flares Amnesty collected 952 flares during the day - which didn't include the 25-30 that were quarantined due to having already been fired. Two batches of Very Pistol cartridges, totalling 37 were also collected.
Members of the Association raised £511 for The Felix Fund (bomb disposal charity).
CMBHA also took the opportunity to invite Hampshire Police along to the event to talk about the close liaison with Chichester Marina and to provide advice on how to keep boats and the coastline safe. The Yacht Club and some of Chichester Marina's onsite marine companies showcased their services and drinks were served in the evening.
Thank you to everyone who made it to the event. Take a look at Chichester Marina's Facebook Page to view photographs from the event.