6 THRIVING BOAT CLUB
Premier Marina’s Agapi Boat Club has got off to a flying start. No fewer than 10 members have joined since its launch last September, according to Premier Marinas’ spokesperson Lizzie Mitchell, with more expected to sign up as the fleet of boats expands. This will include two of the hotly anticipated new Saxdor 320s sportscruisers as well as an all-electric entrylevel boat for less experienced boaters.
Based at Premier’s Swanwick Marina, three categories of boat are presently available to members: small open RIBS (Cat A) such as the Ring 680, 8m cabin RIBS (Cat B) such as the Agapi 800, and 10m sportscruisers (Cat C) such as the Agapi 950 and Saxdor 320. All these models can accommodate at least a family of five, but the larger ones can take up to eight.
Three levels of membership are available: bronze, silver and gold. Bronze is limited to weekday use only, while silver and gold allow seven days a week access, the difference being that gold members don’t have to worry about cleaning and refuelling the boats after use.
Memberships allows a limited number of planned days per year plus spontaneous days on top. Pricing ranges from £4,185 per year for a bronze membership for Cat A boats only, while gold membership covering all categories of boats is £10,920 a year. Corporate memberships are also available that allow up to three skippers on one subscription. All members need to pass an in-house competence assessment as well as possess a RYA Powerboat Level 2 certificate and a VHF operator’s licence.