East Anglia Press Releases for the Norfolk & Suffolk Broads with Press Releases and Articles from the Broads Authority in East Anglia, and the East of England UK.

Neatishead pensioner Alice Dennes will launch the latest addition to the Nancy Oldfield Trustís fleet on June 22nd at 10am.

The Trust, which provides boating holidays for people with all kinds of disabilities on Barton Broad, has just bought a new £13,000 Randmeer half decker from Holland. The Norwich shopping public were asked to suggest names for the boat in a competition held in Castle Mall at Christmas and the winning name was Alice.

Mrs Dennes annual coffee mornings in aid of the Trust since it was founded over 20 years ago have become an important part of the Neatishead calendar.

"We felt it was very appropriate that the boat should be named after her,"

said Trust manager Robin Slatter.

The 21 ft boat is spacious, versatile and well suited to people with disabilities. It replaces an ageing but very popular Dutch built Randmeer.

Mike Ortmans, Vice Chairman of the Trustees, said:

"We scoured the country over many months for a second hand vessel to replace her, and researched alternative designs, but there was nothing to match the Randmeer design. So we decided to buy a new boat from the original builders in Holland."

Mike and volunteer Peter Hargreaves made the 500 mile journey via Harwich and the Hook of Holland to collect the boat from Heeg in Friesland where the family firm of Jachwert Heeg has been building some 2000 Randmeers over the last 40 years.

The winner of the Randmeer name competition, Chrissie Hobbs, 71, of The Common, Freethorpe, will be given a trip with her children in one of the Nancy Oldfield Trust's boats.

Nancy Oldfield Trust's fleet also includes three local boats a Yeoman, Yare and Bure One Design, and a traditional Broads cruiser two Bass boats, three motor boats with chair lifts, an open boat, canoes and kayaks, and a dory.

The Trust's base at Neatishead is centred on a specially adapted, waterside bungalow which sleeps ten people offering accommodation for a week or a weekend. Alternatively visitors can come for a morning or afternoon session or a whole day.

Reproduced by kind permission of Broads Authority.