New boathouse officially opened

Television crews and photographers descended on the seaside town last Tuesday for the unveiling of the listed building (dating from c.1870) by expert canoeist Elaine Alexander, immediately prior to embarking on a 1000-mile round Ireland challenge.

The boathouse will be used as a boat storage facility by CAYC members and also as an overnight stop off point by kayakers and canoeists on the soon to be opened East Coast Canoe Trail.

The project was primarily funded by Generating Rural Opportunities Within (GROW) South Antrim with additional funding raised through Carrick Council, the Northern Ireland Environment Agency Historic Buildings Unit, and County Antrim Yacht Club.

Along with representatives from the club, East Antrim MP Sammy Wilson was among the well-wishers as Elaine began her bid to be first woman from Northern Ireland to circumnavigate Ireland by kayak.

Elaine has been training and studying hard to ensure she is both mentally and physically prepared for the journey that is expected to finish at Whitehead in approximately two months time.

Harry Carse, Commodore of the club, said: “We look forward to welcoming Elaine back on the completion of her challenge and hopefully many other canoeist’s and kayakers in the near future.”

With a strong breeze and choppy waters on the first morning of the epic solo adventure, Elaine was bracing herself for battling tides, headlands and cliffs, not to mention unpredictable weather.

Elaine commented: “Last year I paddled around Ulster which took 26 days and prepared me for some of what to expect for this expedition. I have a good team behind me which means that I can concentrate on the trip and ensuring I have all the right equipment and have taken the correct precautions to ensure as safe a journey as possible.”

Another aim of the trip is to raise much-needed funds for SHARE, County Fermanagh, which is celebrating 30 years of providing outdoor activity programmes.

Said Elaine: “I will blog when possible throughout the trip. I would like to a big say thank you to all those that have donated so far and encourage anyone who would like to support this worthy cause to gift-aid donations online through our justgiving page www.justgiving.com/canoe-around-ireland.”

The restored boathouse is the latest stage of development at County Antrim Yacht Club, where the main facility was officially opened by the Duke of York after a major refurbishment and extension in 2009. CAYC also runs kayaking courses as well as the usual sailing programmes.