Author Archives: Ben Wanklyn

• Marina of the Year win for Buckler’s Hard Yacht Harbour

  Buckler’s Hard Yacht Harbour has won Marina of the Year in the prestigious British Yachting Awards 2022, with the Beaulieu River marina voted as the best place for sailors to call home.

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  Receiving the greatest number of votes from a shortlist of six leading marinas, the top accolade recognises Buckler’s Hard Yacht Harbour as the marina that provides the warmest welcome and the best facilities and services for sailors, and highlights it as a must-visit sailing destination.

  

  Harbour Master Wendy Stowe collected the award last night at the awards ceremony hosted by the Royal Thames Yacht Club in Knightsbridge, London, which celebrated the very best of the sailing industry.

  Wendy said: “We are thrilled to have won this award, and it’s a great reflection of the hard work and dedication of the whole marina team, as well as our upgraded facilities and increased range of services on offer. Marina of the Year is so highly sought-after in the industry, it’s a real honour to have won.”

  

  Celebrating the best that the sailing world has to offer, the British Yachting Awards are the only sailing awards to be voted for entirely by sailors, with the Marina of the Year award honouring the marinas which go above and beyond in their offering to the sailing community. As a jewel of the south coast and with a busy social calendar, Buckler’s Hard Yacht Harbour is a favourite with mooring holders and visiting sailors alike.

  The award is a great source of pride to the friendly and helpful marina team, who are dedicated to providing the best customer experience. The award follows Buckler’s Hard Yacht Harbour Marina Assistant, John Selman, receiving Marina Employee of the Year 2022 as part of The Yacht Harbour Association’s Marina of the Year Awards.

  

  Following its 50^th anniversary celebrations last year, and a whole host of upgrades and improvements as part of its recent £2m redevelopment, the marina is looking to the future as it enters the next chapter of its history. With first-class facilities, further upgrades to the marina and its infrastructure have been taking place during 2022, all helping to improve the services offered to customers.

  The Beaulieu River is one of the few privately owned tidal rivers in Britain and has been under the custodianship of the Montagu family for over four centuries, maintaining its unique natural charm and protecting its unique habitats and species.

• New commercial premises on offer at Buckler’s Hard Yacht Harbour

  Buckler’s Hard Yacht Harbour, on the Beaulieu River, is sharing its first-class facilities and stunning New Forest location with marine businesses, as it offers workshop, office and retail spaces to let for 2023 and 2024.

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  With a planned redevelopment of the boat shed as the next step in the marina’s extensive investment programme, a range of new commercial premises will be on offer in the extended and improved building, suiting a variety of different maritime business needs.

  

  Undercover boat storage, of 134m² or 150m², and workshop units ranging from 55m² to 150m² in size, are only half the story, with office spaces ranging from 25m² to 66m² and a 55m² retail unit also on offer. The installation of 6m² and 9m² lockers will provide useful storage solutions for marine businesses and Beaulieu River mooring holders alike. Letting terms are negotiable and can include the use of meeting rooms, secure leased line share, WiFi and parking.

  

  With Buckler’s Hard Yacht Harbour boasting industry-leading services and facilities, recognised by its prestigious THYA 5 Gold Anchor accreditation, as well as 200 fully serviced walk-ashore pontoon berths, 300 river moorings, storage ashore for 200 vessels and overnight berthing for in excess of 10,000 visitors per annum, this jewel of the south coast is the ideal base for a thriving marine industry business.

  To find out more or to register your interest, contact Harbour Master Wendy Stowe at wendy.stowe@beaulieu.co.uk or call the harbour office on 01590 616200.

  

  The Beaulieu River is one of the few privately owned tidal rivers in Britain and has been under the custodianship of the Montagu family for over four centuries, maintaining its unique natural charm and protecting its unique habitats and species.

• Vote for Buckler’s Hard Yacht Harbour as Marina of the Year

  Buckler’s Hard Yacht Harbour is calling on the support of its berth holders and visitors to vote for this jewel of the south coast in the British Yachting Awards 2022, following the marina being shortlisted for the prestigious Marina of the Year award.

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  The Beaulieu River team is thrilled to be in the running for this coveted accolade, one of just six marinas to make it onto the shortlist for the award, following selection by Sailing Today and Yachts and Yachting staff and readers as one of their favourite spots. Now with voting underway, you can help Buckler’s Hard Yacht Harbour to be recognised as one of the nicest places for sailors to call home.

  To help us win the title of Marina of the Year, head over to britishyachtingawards.com and cast your vote.

  Celebrating the best that the sailing world has to offer, the British Yachting Awards are the only sailing awards to be voted for entirely by sailors. With a busy social calendar, the marina is a favourite with mooring holders and visiting sailors alike.

  

  The nomination follows Buckler’s Hard Yacht Harbour Marina Assistant, John Selman, receiving Marina Employee of the Year 2022 as part of The Yacht Harbour Association’s Marina of the Year Awards. John’s award is a great source of pride to the friendly and helpful marina team, who are dedicated to providing the best customer experience.

  Following its 50^th anniversary celebrations last year, and a whole host of upgrades and improvements as part of its recent £2m redevelopment, the marina is looking to the future as it enters the next chapter of its history. With first-class facilities, further upgrades to the marina and its infrastructure have been taking place during 2022, all helping to improve the services offered to customers.

  As one of the few privately owned tidal rivers in Britain, the custodianship of the Montagu family has protected the Beaulieu River for over four centuries, meaning that Buckler’s Hard Yacht Harbour is continuing to keep pace with modern demands while maintaining its natural charm.

  

  

• Beaulieu River team member wins top award in TYHA Marina of the Year Awards

  The Beaulieu River team is delighted that one of its members has been awarded Towergate’s Marina Employee of the Year 2022, as part of The Yacht Harbour Association’s Marina of the Year Awards, with Marina Assistant John Selman receiving the accolade for his outstanding service to Buckler’s Hard Yacht Harbour customers.

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  “Outstanding,” “will go the extra mile for customers,” “a naturally helpful guy,” “always happy” and “nothing is too much trouble and he does it with a smile,” are amongst the glowing customer comments for John that were received by the award judges, resulting in him being selected from employees at more than 160 Gold Anchor accredited marinas around the world.

  

  While customers praised the entire Buckler’s Hard Yacht Harbour team for their friendliness and efficiency, John stood out as a shining example of a customer-focused employee dedicated to the smooth running of the marina.

  At the Southampton Boat Show on Wednesday 21^st September, John was presented with his award by The Yacht Harbour Association General Manager, Jon White, Chair, Colin Watts and Towergate Insurance’s Daniel Beorby.

  

  John said:

  “I am immensely proud to have received this award, as I’m always striving to be as helpful as possible, to help our customers to get the most out of their time on the Beaulieu River. It’s really important to me to give sailors and visitors the best possible experience I can. I always aim to work with a smile!

  “I love working with people and boats, having been in the marine industry for 40 years, working for many boat builders and publications before joining the Buckler’s Hard Yacht Harbour team. The Beaulieu River is a special place to work, thanks not only to its beauty, but also how friendly everybody is.”

  Beaulieu River Harbour Master Wendy Stowe said:

  “John Selman has been an employee of the Beaulieu Estate since 2009, following a fast-paced sales and marketing career in the boating media, before moving to the Buckler’s Hard Yacht Harbour team in 2020. With his passion and depth of knowledge from working in the boating industry, he fitted straight in with the team and the customers.

  “John is always prepared to take on any job with a smile and is happy to help anyone out, be it a team member or customer. He can often be found on the visitors’ pontoon welcoming and helping new arrivals.

  “What makes John stand out is that he’ll make time for anybody and everybody, and enjoys nothing more than talking about his passions of boats, bikes and classic cars. The organisation is very lucky to have him on the team, and is grateful for all of the enthusiasm and hard work he brings to the river.”

  The Yacht Harbour Association General Manager Jon White said:

  “These awards are voted for by berth holders and celebrate the very best marinas, both in the UK and overseas, and provide a perfect opportunity to recognise those marinas that go above and beyond, offering outstanding quality and service to their berth holders and visitors.”

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  John’s award comes just as Buckler’s Hard Yacht Harbour has been nominated for another prestigious award, having been shortlisted for Marina of the Year in the British Yachting Awards 2022.

  To vote for Buckler’s Hard Yacht Harbour in the upcoming British Yachting Awards 2022, visit britishyachtingawards.com.

• 5 Gold Anchors awarded to Buckler’s Hard Yacht Harbour

  Buckler’s Hard Yacht Harbour has been awarded a top rating of 5 Gold Anchors by The Yacht Harbour Association, in recognition of its first-class facilities and outstanding customer service.

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  Continuing its top rating within the Gold Anchor Scheme, which evaluates the standards, efficiency and service of marinas across the UK, Buckler’s Hard Yacht Harbour was commended by the assessor as offering “some of the most picturesque boating facilities in the UK,” while Harbour Master Wendy Stowe and her team were praised for “keeping customer satisfaction high during exceedingly challenging times,” as mooring holders continued to come first despite the Covid-19 restrictions and the redevelopment of the marina.

  

  “Important levels of customer satisfaction have always been important to Wendy and her team, and they continue to score highly in both customer satisfaction surveys and TYHA Mystery Shopper recently conducted for this assessment,” said the report. “The quality of customer service has further been highlighted with the marina winning TYHA Coastal Marina of the Year, under 250 berths, in 2018/2019.”

  Harbour Master Wendy Stowe said:

  “We are delighted to be recognised again for the service we provide for our customers. It has been really good to welcome old and new customers back to the marina to what has been a great season, with people very pleased with the new facilities. This season has been our busiest, with berth holders and visitors enjoying everything on offer, from using the upgraded facilities to simply having a glass of wine overlooking the stunning Beaulieu River.”

  Following its extensive £2m redevelopment, “the entire pontoon structure has been replaced over the past 2 winters and now offers customers some of the best facilities for berthing along the south coast,” said the report, bringing total capacity up to 250 walk ashore berths, along with 304 swinging river moorings and eighty dry berth spaces, all in great demand.

  “The sanitary facilities were re-built to an extremely high standard in 2019 and benefited from a £400,000 budget. They reflect the level that the management are striving to achieve in all areas of the marina.”

  

  The award comes shortly after the 50^th anniversary celebration of marina, which saw the most decorated Olympic sailor Sir Ben Ainslie given the Honorary Freedom of the Beaulieu River by Lord Montagu as more than 800 berth and mooring holders gathered for the occasion.

  The Gold Anchor Scheme has been a respected measure of marina quality for over 25 years, issuing ‘anchors’ in the same way that hotels are issued with stars. It is managed and administered jointly by The Yacht Harbour Association (TYHA) and the Marina Industries Association (MIA).

  The Beaulieu River is one of the few privately owned tidal rivers in Britain and has been under the custodianship of the Montagu family for over four centuries. The yacht harbour, which was runner-up in The British Yachting Awards’ Marina of the Year awards in 2020, has a long track record of giving a personal and outstanding service to its customers.