West Wilts Youth Sailing Association boathouse open again after blaze

The charitable trust’s storage building, in Station Road, Westbury, was set alight in the early hours of April 24. Fire crews from Westbury, Trowbridge and Warminster attended.

Two outboard motors from boats housed within the sail store were stolen, along with other items of sailing equipment, before the building was set alight, gutting the outbuilding and damaging boats stored nearby.

Members marked the opening of the new boathouse and sail store at the weekend, with Dilton Marsh Primary School headteacher Judith Finney invited to name one of the safety boats, after the school helped raise £500 for the association.

Pat Walker, secretary of West Wilts Sailing Association, said: “We lost almost everything in the fire, but we are now back on the site and have a new metal container for the equipment.

“There was a feeling of complete devastation the morning after the fire, but it is great to see it back to normal and have people out on the water again.

“It’s getting towards the end of the season now, so hopefully we can start fresh next year. We were thankfully able to have some sessions at Shearwater over the summer, but it wasn’t quite the same.

“We usually run structured evening sessions and an assessment day where students can get their certificate, but that wasn’t possible this year.”

The charitable trust, which has been based in Westbury since 1967, is run by volunteers and provides tuition to more than 100 children a week. It aims to introduce young people between the ages of eight and 18 to the sport.

The fire destroyed all the masts, sails, rudders and daggerboards and both the safety boats that were housed in the sail store. Mrs Walker added the club is still in the process of refurbishing six Topper sailboats.

She said: “People have been very kind. Dilton Marsh have used the club for years and raised nearly £500 for us, while another former student also sent us a cheque.”