Southend yacht club gives 104-year-old jetty new lease of life (From Echo)

Southend yacht club gives 104-year-old jetty new lease of life

9:00pm Wednesday 13th February 2013 in Local News By Laura Smith

VOLUNTEERS have sacrificed their spare time to build a new boathouse and jetty on Southend seafront.
 

The members of Thames Estuary Yacht Club have been slogging away to make the £203,000 project a reality.
 

Work on the rickety 104-year-old wooden jetty has to be handled extremely carefully. But by July, they hope to have made the structure 120 per cent bigger with a balcony providing stunning views of the sea.
 

David Brooks, rear Commodore of the club, said: “Dinghy sailing has become more popular and we have run out of space to put the dinghies.
“We’re standing on a jetty which is falling down.
 

“Following the Olympics, Sport England have been trying to push certain athletic ventures and one of these is sailing so through them we were able to secure a grant.”
 

Sport England have poured £50,000 into the project to get it underway.
It means the structure can be expanded to include changing rooms, showers, a bar and an area for serving snacks.