AN EIGHT-time blind sailing champion who fell in love with the sport at Southend’s former Marine Activities Centre has thrown her support behind plans for it to re-open.
Lucy Hodges MBE, who grew up in Southend, is hoping major plans to restore the centre will give a new generation of children the same opportunities she had growing up.
After doing her level one sailing qualification at the centre when she was just 16, Lucy fell in love with the sport before going on to become one of the UK’s most successful blind sailors.
Lucy has now agreed to be an ambassador for plans, recently submitted to Southend Council, to re-open the Marine Activities Centre along with a new restaurant.
Lucy said: “I went there when I was younger and that is what led me to keep going and get eight world titles. I just think that for the different communities in Southend, if something can become of it, it could be fantastic for everyone.
“When I was younger, I did my level one there and I went with my dad and I used to do Wednesday evening sessions, when the tide was right, we did a sail.
“There was nowhere else like it, it offered different courses, and it was really robust, it allowed the public to sign up and offered a place to sail. I remember when we went on trip from there to the other side of the estuary, it was really good.
“It was sad to see it go; it is sad to see anything in Southend disappear.”
The centre has sat unused since closing in 2016 but now Mehmet Hassan is behind proposals to bring back water sport.
Lucy added that the creation of a revived Marine Activities Centre has the potential to bring the community together and provide opportunity, noting it would “give an opportunity to try and enjoy the water”.
She said: “You don’t need to be qualified to do water sport, it is accessible as a sport but there are different ways you can go about it.
“It gives the opportunity to learn to use the water safely, that is the biggest thing right in Southend, so people can go in and do things safely.”
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