Comment

IT was the moment they had all been waiting for.

The Princess Royal tilted a bottle of champagne over the bows of two new boats before giving a group of disabled sailors the royal nod of approval.

Members of Lymington SailAbility watched on proudly as the Queen's daughter named the new safety vessel Pebble Beach and the group's specially-adapted trimaran Aly Cat.

After performing her ceremonial duties, the princess, a keen sailor herself, spent time speaking to some of the people who benefit from the charity's work the most.

She even presented three members with sailing certificates to cap one of the proudest days in the club's history.

Hampshire County Council chairman Patricia Devereux and her New Forest District Council equivalent Bill Dow were part of a large greeting party which assembled as the princess arrived at the town's sailing club on Bath Road.

She also got a chance to meet disabled sailor and club patron Geoff Holt, who completed an epic 1,500-mile voyage around Britain's coastline last summer.

SailAbility chairman Alison Gunn said: "It went wonderfully. Princess Anne is brilliant and made everybody feel very relaxed. She was very interested in the types of boat we had here and of course named two of them today.

"What was so nice was that she spoke to as many members as she possibly could.

"Hopefully, the visit will raise the awareness of the club and bring some recognition to all the people who work so hard to make the group a success."

12:09pm Tuesday 22nd April 2008

Print

Email this

Comment

Add your comment

Name:
Email: *
Location:
**
	e.g. 123-123
Comment: Please note: All HTML tags will be ignored. Format Text:
By posting a comment, I confirm that I have read and agree to the terms of use. Comments are not moderated but we will react if anything that breaks the rules comes to our attention and we may delete inappropriate postings. Please treat other people with respect. You must not post anything that is abusive, indecent, unlawful or defamatory. Remember, you are personally liable for what you post on this site. If you wish to complain about a comment, contact us here.
* Your email address will not be displayed ** To avoid register now or login

CONTACT THE NEW FOREST POST

Address: 41, Gosport Street, Lymington SO419BB If you have a story: Email Chris Yandell on 01590 613804 If you wish to advertise: Email sales@newforestpost.co.uk or call 01590 613888