News

We’re happy to say our lead Skipper Richard Metcalfe, with Boleh volunteers and friends, successfully extricated Boleh from Birdham Pool last week, returning her to her Haslar operating base.  Spic and span from the careful attentions of Tim Gilmore and his team, Boleh is now ready for her busy 2022 sailing programme.  This starts with a rigorous programme of crew inductions and refresher training run by Richard in preparation for the Season.

Picture shows last minutes touches being applied to Boleh at Birdham before she is swung back in to the water.

We’re thrilled to report a big boost to the start of Boleh’s sailing Season with a generous donation from the Adrian Swire Charitable Trust.  The Trust targets ‘opportunity, environment and heritage’ with its roots in the Swire Group, trading in the Asia Pacific region.  Boleh, providing opportunities for young people, fitted with a ‘green’ hybrid electric drive, and a national historic junk-yacht Singapore built in 1949, fits neatly into this Swire mould.

We are very grateful for these funds which will be used to extend our work with Dorset charities helping disadvantaged young people.  We also aim to build on the relationships we already have with a number of schools and make Boleh available to a wider range of local children.  Picture shows last year’s cohort absorbing the Boleh experience off the Dorset coast.

Next month Boleh slips from Birdham and Tim Gilmore’s tender care, returning to her operational base at Haslar Marina.  From there she will embark on this Season’s full charitable programme which includes sailing Gosport and Portsmouth children, deployments to Portland and the Westcountry, and support to the Armed Services.

We are humbled by the generosity of our many donors and very grateful for the most recent grant from our regular supporter, the Nuffield Trust for the Forces of the Crown.  These funds ensure Boleh’s pump is fully primed to deliver the Boleh experience to young people – such as these Army Cadets pictured last year.

What creates a successful sailing Season for Boleh?  There’s a complex mix of activities for our committed Team to sort: repairs and winter maintenance, ongoing technical support, safety equipment and MCA Coding, volunteer crew availability and training, RYA qualifications, berthing, insurance, operational and compliance documentation, and of course our customers’ needs and wishes.

All this leads to a full and exciting programme for 2022 but with one key piece still missing to complete the jig-saw – funding from generous donors!  We are therefore proud and grateful that the RN&RM Charity has again stepped forward to fund this year’s popular Boleh programme for local Service children.  So our puzzle is complete, and we can enjoy this Boleh jig-saw created by long term Boleh volunteer Skipper, Chris O’Connell and his wife Rosie.

Boleh’s supporters who are members of the Royal Naval Sailing Association will be delighted to see that Boleh features in the recently published RNSA Journal for 2020/21.  Pages 55 and 56 contain a well illustrated account by Boleh’s volunteer Mate and RNSA member, David Critchley, of last Season’s successful cruise to the West Country with Devon Army Cadets embarked.

Emphasising Boleh’s connection with the Armed Services, Boleh also featuted in the 2020 Royal Engineer Yacht Club Journal, celebrating her historic connection with the Sappers, as well as in earlier RNSA articles.  The year ahead will see Boleh taking on a new role, supporting the RN Wounded, Injured and Sick Recovery Programme.

The start of 2022 has brought about a hugely exciting development for Boleh, as the Trust is seeking to employ an Operations Director for the first time.

The full job advert is available here but the successful candidate will be given the enviable task of overseeing Boleh’s annual 120 day sailing programme.

The Trustees are looking for an individual who is seeking to develop a management career in the Youth or Sailing sectors, or who already has the administrative and management experience to take on the full responsibilities of the role immediately.

A competitive salary is offered, and the appointment will commence in April 2022.

For more information, or to receive the full job description and application procedure, please contact Boleh Trustee Brook White.

We’re delighted to report that Boleh’s New Year has made a great start with donations from the charitable funds of Blackburn Chemicals and of Wealth Manager, St James Place.  We are very grateful for this generosity which will help the Trust meet the costs of repairing hi-tech battery chargers and some rot in 2 frames.  Picture shoes Boleh being lifted out at Birdham for her winter maintenance.

The past year has been full of obstacles.  Thanks to the support of our donors and volunteers, we are proud to say that Boleh has taken these on, delivering a full and successful charitable sailing programme.  So, as we head towards another uncertain festive period, let’s remember Boleh’s ‘can-do’ message.

This year’s Christmas Card by Carole Westbrook Designs, entitled ‘Beam Reach’, is inspired by a photo looking up the mast with sails billowing in perfect conditions.  Something to look forward to in 2022!  A very Happy Christmas and a safe and peaceful New Year to all our supporters.

We’re happy to report Boleh is now bedded down for her winter maintenance with Tim Gilmore and team at Birdham Pool.  The work programme will be carried out thanks to a generous grant from the Nuffield Trust, recognising our support to the Armed Forces, and a welcome donation from our steadfast supporter the Payne-Gallwey Charitable Trust.  Picture shows our volunteers squaring off Boleh after a cracking passage from Haslar to Birdham.