News
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Project 21 sailing day
As well as our regular sailing, we often do some special sailing days for various groups. One of those is Project 21. They run activities, clubs and events for people with Down's Syndrome in the East of England and we are delighted to be one of those activities. We were really lucky with the weather and, though it was a little chilly, there was a perfect sailing breeze allowing them to take charge of the
Published 20:27 on 1 May 2024
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Compounding our compound
We always start sailing quite early in the year - usually in March. With an early start like that comes, not surprisingly, weather risks. Usually these are strong winds, but this year it was just relentlessly wet. This caused us some problems with moving boats in and out of the compound, so we decided to try and improve the access. One of our volunteers did a detailed survey of the site and researched a range
Published 14:58 on 25 Apr 2024
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Fred Olsen - grant
We were delighted to welcome staff from Fred Olsen and Suffolk Community Foundation to our session at Alton Water. Fred Olsen Cruise Lines awarded a £2,000 grant to the oolverstone Project, as part of funding through the Suffolk Community Foundation and the staff came to present us with the cheque. Georgina May, Public Relations Executive and member of the Charity Committee at Fred Olsen Cruises Lines, said: "Supporting local communities is close to
Published 10:48 on 30 Sep 2023
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The history of Little Ship
The Woolverstone Project was founded in 1993, the year of the Royal Harwich Yacht Club's 150th Anniversary. The first Trustees were Peter Hooper, Johnty Dickinson and Simon Tozer, all members of the Club. Their names live on through our boats - the Sonar is named Kip (Johnty's nickname) and one of our 3.03s is called Simon Tozer. In 1994 the Project was presented with its first two boats. A Drascombe Longboat, "Shellduck", was donated by
Published 16:32 on 28 Jul 2023
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Parkinson's Day
Following on from our very successful Success After Stroke day, we also ran a day for a local Parkinson's support group. Around 26 sailors came down to the Royal Harwich Yacht Club and went out on our Sonar and Wheelyboat for a number of sessions. The sailing went so well that a number of people stayed on to have a second go on our Sonar for the afternoon - a great day's sailing and very
Published 18:14 on 27 Jul 2023
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Success After Stroke day
Every year we host a day for the Success After Stroke group - using our Wheelyboat and Sonar to take their members out on the river. The day was hosted at the Royal Harwich YC and thanks to all their members who helped support the day. It was an excellent day with a total of 46 people getting on the water to enjoy the beautiful River Orwell at its best. Thanks as well to
Published 13:28 on 19 Jul 2023
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Celebrating 30 years
2023 marks the 30th Anniversary of the Woolverstone Project. The Royal Harwich Yacht Club founded the Project in 1993, the year of the Club's 150th Anniversary. It was the brainchild of the then Commodore Mrs Margaret Howard. There should be, she said, an organisation within the Club which would provide the facilities to sail for any person with any disability whatsoever, be it physical or sensory and its creation would also be a memorable way
Published 00:00 on 20 Jun 2023
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Discover Sailing Day
On Saturday May 15 th the project hosted a Discover Sailing Day at Alton Water. This was an opportunity for people to come down and see what we do and how our specially adapted boats allow anyone to get on the water whatever mobility or other constraints they may face. We were bowled over by the response 45 people came down to try things out and have a go in our RS Ventures
Published 14:56 on 22 May 2023
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Landing craft at Woolverstone a long history
During the Second World War Woolverstone was known as site NK. This was an embarkation site and was built by the Admiralty between 1942 and 1943 in preparation for D-Day. It was a 4-berth hard for landing craft carrying troops. The concrete loading ramp was equipped with steel framed mooring points and while those are no longer there, the hard still is and is still in active use. The hard is at Woolverstone Marina
Published 00:00 on 15 May 2023
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Volunteering Safety in Numbers
We all want to feel safe in and around the water and Wednesday April 26th saw many of the volunteers who keep us safe coming together for a training exercise at Woolverstone Marina and Lodge Park. An evening training exercise, organised by the Woolverstone Project, brought together two local Coastguard teams (Felixstowe and Holbrook) and the Harwich all-weather lifeboat. All the boats were moored at Woolverstone Marina to allow the various volunteers to discuss working
Published 00:00 on 27 Apr 2023
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AGM 2023
It was wonderful to see so many sailors and volunteers at the 2023 AGM. Many thanks to everyone who came along and to the RHYC for once again hosting us and giving us lunch. Thanks also to Jackie Markell from Activities Unlimited for coming along to tell us about the work they do for local groups. Activities Unlimited have funded our Youth Group sailing for many years and we are very grateful for their support.
Published 14:10 on 10 Mar 2023
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30th Anniversary
2023 marks the 30th Anniversary of the Woolverstone Project. We look forward to celebrating this with a variety of events. These include: May 20th (Alton Water) - Discover Sailing Day - a family day at Alton Water for people to try out sailing June 5th (Alton Water) - Rediscover Sailing Day - a day for people to retry sailing. Using project boats anyone can get on the water. June 19th (Royal
Published 14:01 on 10 Mar 2023