Purpose

This report presents an application for funding under the Council’s Community Funding Programme.  

An application has been received from Portchester Sailing Club for £4,250 from the Community Fund towards the purchase of a replacement safety boat.

Portchester Sailing Club is well established within the community and currently have 585 members. The Club holds a range of activities including dinghy sailing, paddle boarding and kayaking for members, Get Afloat Fridays with a family focus which is available to the wider community, cadet training and their summer ONBOARD program for local school children helping them to achieve Royal Yachting Association Stage 1 standard. The Club also has an Agreement to mutually share boats with 3rd Portchester Scouts.

The Club currently has 3 safety boats, consisting of 1 Rigid Inflatable Boat (RIB) and 2 plastic hulled boats, which enable them to run 2 activities at the same time while safely cover the entire area of the harbour that they use for their sailing activities. One of the safety boats is now showing signs of age and is no longer fit for purpose. A replacement safety boat will enable the club to continue training activities and events for the community without interruption. The Club proposes to replace the worn plastic hulled boat with a 2nd RIB as the plastic hulled boats are less versatile.

A second-hand Avon Searider 4 RIB has been identified on the market.  It is currently owned by another sailing club and is well maintained. A member of the Club who is a qualified engineer has looked at the boat and deemed it as a good potential purchase. Comparison with similar boats listed online indicates that the price listed is reasonable.

The total cost for this project is £4,250. Additional work to make this boat fit for operation at Portchester Sailing Club (including VHF radio console, navigation lights and engine servicing) would cost a further £1,100 which will be met by the Club’s reserves.  As a result of the engineering expertise within the Club, all improvement works and regular maintenance to the RIB can be carried out to a high standard by the Club’s members.

As of January 2023, Portchester Sailing Club held £200,916 in their accounts. The funds within this account are required for maintenance of the Club’s freehold property and necessary extensive piling work to the pier. In the accounting year February 22-January 23 there was an income of £114,787 and expenditure of £153,546.

Cllr Mrs Bainbridge, Cllr Davis and Cllr Nother support Portchester Sailing Club’s application.

Decision

RESOLVED that this application be approved with the following conditions: -

a)    Portchester Sailing Club to participate in the Access All Areas programme; and

b)    Recognition on the boat that it is supported by Fareham Borough Council.