East Anglian Maritime Awards launched

East Anglian Maritime Awards © EAMA

Launching last week, the East Anglian Maritime Awards will recognise the achievements, skills and contributions of young people involved with boats, in salt water and fresh, on and near the coasts of Essex, Norfolk and Suffolk.

The East Anglian Maritime Awards will recognise, celebrate, encourage and inspire.

The Awards spotlight opportunities for trying something new and developing skills, in counties with hundreds of miles of coastline and many generations of traditions of boating and seafaring. The unrivalled coasts nourish well-being and present inspiring recreational and professional opportunities in waterways, rivers, creeks, inlets, estuaries, wetlands, beaches and harbours.

The three counties are home to boating companies and businesses that depend upon the skills and capacities of their teams, often recruited locally. These industries are world-renowned for the wide range of their products and the high quality of their services.

In partnership with organisations and schools, the Awards will spread awareness of pastimes and careers, and amplify information about water safety and care for the natural environment. The Lord-Lieutenants of Essex, Norfolk and Suffolk (Mrs Jennifer Tolhurst, Lady Dannatt and Clare Countess of Euston) have kindly agreed to become Patrons of the Awards. Olympic Sailor Saskia Clark MBE from West Mersea is a Champion of the Awards.

Three Youth Ambassadors have been appointed to help spread the word about the Awards.

Jasmin Klimcke (Essex) is a qualified rigger and a director of a boatyard business; Ash Faire-Ring (Norfolk) and Tom Curtis (Suffolk) are boat builders with their own companies. All three are proficient sailors in their 20s, and each has built a strong reputation for the quality of their work and their passion for activities afloat.

Chair of the organisers, Rear Admiral Roy Clare CBE DL, Vice Lord-Lieutenant of Essex, comments: “Across Essex, Norfolk and Suffolk, young people are the future of our nation’s maritime expertise and vital for the sustainability of our nautical industries. Through the Awards, we would like more young people to become excited by the experiences available, so that they too can develop skills and expertise at the highest levels. The Awards will celebrate their achievements and contributions”.

The Awards are open for nominations now. Young people can be recognised in any of four categories:

• Resilience
• Proficiency
• Water Safety
• Conservation

To register an interest and receive further details simply email:

Patrons: His Majesty’s Lord-Lieutenants of Essex, Suffolk and Norfolk
Supported by Harwich Haven Authority, SEA-KIT and Norfolk Broads Direct
In association with The Community Foundations of Essex, Suffolk and Norfolk
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