A NEW era has begun for Erith Yacht Club, with a groundbreaking ceremony to mark the start of its transformation into a community sailing centre.
The club, on the Thames foreshore off Manor Road, Erith, has attracted more than £3m in grants for the project, as part of the 2012 Olympic legacy.
Its clubhouse, a former Norwegian car ferry is to be taken back to Norway for restoration and display in a museum and in its place will be a purpose-built centre on dry land.
Bexley mayor, Councillor Bernard Clewes, performed the ceremony in front of guests who included Erith and Thamesmead MP John Austin and representatives from the Royal Yachting Association, Gravesend Royal National Lifeboat Institution and the grant organisations involved.
Club commodore John Edmonds led a champagne toast to the future of the club, before a celebration lunch onboard the clubhouse.
It is hoped the project will be complete by March next year.
The ceremony was timed to coincide with an open weekend of club races and taster sessions for the public, which attracted more than 150 people, nearly half of them new sailors.
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