I was honoured to take on the role of British Marine president in July, having stood as President-Elect for two years. This comes after 12 years of involvement with British Marine, which first started when I attended an Advanced Marina Management course, and then grew through my time with the Inland Boating Association when I became a member of the Midlands Committee. Things stepped up a gear when I then took on the Chair of the Midlands Committee and then, four years ago, I was asked to join the British Marine Board. 

I can’t say I set out to be President, so I did feel a little surprised to find myself in this position! However, at each stage of my involvement with British Marine, I’ve got more and more out of it; I’ve built knowledge, made contacts, and it’s helped both my business and personal development. I really enjoy it, and I’m delighted to have this opportunity to positively impact the marine leisure industry by directing and supporting the association. 

For me, this role is all about getting out there, hearing what’s going on from the members, and supporting the executive team in their jobs, helping to prioritise and respond to issues. I’m a shameless networker, and I love to be in the room and engaging with people face to face, so that has meant a lot of travelling over the past few months. 

The day after formally accepting the role, I headed straight to the Isle of Wight to attend The Yacht Harbour Association (TYHA) networking event, before driving up to Scotland to meet the new Chair of British Marine Scotland and show support to the region. Together with Joanna Richardson, British Marine’s Senior Public Affairs and Policy Executive, I met with around 50 members at a networking event, organised alongside the Clipper Round the World Race stopover at Oban Marina. We also visited several member businesses en route, including Rhu Marina, Cruise Loch Lomond, Largs Yacht Haven and Kip Marina. It was fantastic to tour these sites, see first-hand their successes and to chat with key personnel.    

That was a perfect start to my two-year Presidency; meeting such a wide range of members in person already has really helped me to get a feel for what’s going on. 

Several of the issues highlighted to me will be familiar to longstanding members of British Marine, and all require long term thinking.

An ongoing concern for many is the challenge of recruiting skilled workers to the industry. I’m passionate about enabling progress and finding solutions here, as I feel that people are the cornerstones of our industry. 

Apprenticeships offer a great gateway, but there are several barriers. As an independent End Point Assessor for Marina and Boatyard Operative apprenticeships, I have first-hand experience of the need to expand apprenticeship provision beyond the critical mass of the south coast. I also appreciate the need for increased flexibility in how apprenticeship funding can be utilised to help businesses across the board. 

Training provision is fundamental to future growth. British Marine itself runs a number of marine-specific specialist courses - from brokerage to electrical training, marina management to hire boat code – which, in the past few years, have had a fantastic uptake among members. This tells me that there is an increasing onus on businesses like mine – which employs 35 people across the boatyard, marina, brokerage as well as caravan site and cafe - to provide high level, relevant training to ensure staff retention. Expanding our marine specialist courses is therefore vital. Training also encourages the cross-pollination of ideas within the industry – further incentive for us to extend opportunities in this area. 

Another issue shaping our industry’s future is the green agenda. I firmly believe in the need for action to prevent climate change. As we transition to a new era, however, we need to ensure a sustainable future for marine businesses. Already, the UK leisure marine industry is bringing huge innovation; that needs nurturing, supporting and encouraging, and sufficient time to be fully explored and developed. Yet there’s a risk that overly ambitious legislation and policies could prove detrimental to business if this is not fully considered. For example, banning diesel engine use in canal boats, which typically are only used for a few weeks per year, without the time to test, ensure economic viability and implement alternatives, would be devastating to businesses like the 150-boat marina I own and operate. 

It’s not this year or next year, it’s a five- or 10-year window that’s needed. With that in mind, I will support British Marine in lobbying, ensuring government and local authorities are made aware of the implications of pushing for legislation without due consideration for commercial sustainability in what is, currently, a very strong sector. 

In addition, we need to work with trusts, local authorities and agencies to re-consider environmentally based barriers to business development in rural areas. Marine businesses are often sited in natural, beautiful locations, close to water - which we want to protect, and I fully understand and respect the need for that. At the same time, businesses also need to grow and develop, but obtaining the necessary permissions from local trusts, authorities and agencies can involve complex and time-consuming processes that prevent many businesses from doing do. By working with government to encourage long term funding, and with the relevant authorities on future planning, our aim is to restore confidence in those relationships and to enable businesses to succeed, while ensuring due consideration to the environmental impacts.

This is an issue felt by businesses across the country; one particular example is the inland waterways, the Thames and the Norfolk Broads, where individual businesses rely on the navigation authorities to maintain the waterways network. By making the financial case to persuade government to fund maintenance on a long-term basis and working to help support of authorities, British Marine aims to eliminate this threat. 

In pro-actively meeting so many members over the first few months as President, not only has this given me valuable insight, it has also highlighted to me of the power of the network that British Marine provides. The opportunity to attend so many workshops, seminars and events, to meet with others, exchange ideas and push for growth, is something individuals often cite as a key benefit of association membership. 

I’m a huge advocate for maximising this.