Friday the 21 July was a red letter day for Maidenhead Sailing Club. Early in the morning a giant 25 Ton Crane and a 50 foot low loader trundled into the club site and took up position at the bottom of the launch ramp and offloaded two new pontoons. These pontoons were purchased with a generous contribution from the Lottery Fund – Awards for All, who recognised  why MSC wanted to update their existing facility. These new pontoons are much wider than those presently used at the club, and the manufacturer, Walcon Marine of Fareham, designed special buoyancy tanks that will not only ensure exceptional stability, but set the deck height at a convenient level for accessing small boats. The stability and size of these pontoons will help sailors with disabilities, and those of a nervous disposition, to take to the water with much greater confidence than would otherwise be the case. Provision for a hoist has been included to allow severely disabled members to be lowered (and lifted out) of boats.  Commodore Alan Dibble says that theses pontoons are a big step forward in meeting the club "Inclusive" ethic and he hoped that folk who might previously have thought they couldn't cope with sailing might now give it a try - families with young children will also find much benefit.

The club took advantage of the presence of the crane to lift out some large trees that had recently been felled, and more importantly, recovered a sunken pontoon from the vicinity of the Laser launch area where it has been a hazard for several years.

Visitors are most welcome at the club, just off Summerlease Road, on Thursday evenings, or Saturday and Sundays round about lunchtime when something is normally going on! See www.maidenheadsc.org.uk  for more information.