Olympic sailing silver medallist, Simon Hiscocks, unveiled the foundation stone to commemorate the commencement of construction of the new Weymouth and Portland Sailing Academy at Osprey Quay, Portland in Dorset this morning.

This £7.85 million project brings about a unique partnership between the Weymouth and Portland Sailing Academy, Sport England, the South West of England Regional Development Agency, the Royal Yachting Association, the English Institute of Sport, Dorset County Council, local authorities and many other contributory organisations.

Bill Ludlow, Sailing Academy Chairman said: “Detailed planning for this wonderful new sporting facility began in earnest some five years ago, but the dream of providing world-class shore based facilities to match the finest small boat sailing waters in Northern Europe goes back over several decades.

“As a result of this magnificent partnership effort we are now constructing what will undoubtedly be the most prestigious sailing centre in the UK, providing training facilities of excellence for our most talented sailing athletes, a championship venue to equal anywhere in the world and opportunity and choice for sporting, leisure and recreational facilities for everyone in the community.”

Martin Hirst, Chairman of Ringwood based Dean and Dyball Construction Ltd, the appointed contractors for the new Academy, took guests on a tour of the construction site to view site preparation including the marine reclamation works and piling for a new crane jetty already in progress, and 6,000 tonnes of marine aggregate , dredged south-west of the Needles, and been placed in-situ behind the new rock revetment. Construction of the marine works and new Academy buildings is scheduled to take around 14 months.

“Sailing for the world, is our motto and our aspiration”, continued Bill Ludlow, “we firmly intend that Weymouth and Portland Sailing Academy establishes itself as a dynamic focal point within the community, bringing prestige, international media exposure, opportunities for jobs and prosperity to the area. Working in close partnership with the South West RDA, the sailing academy will form an essential platform in attracting significant further marine sector development to the Osprey Quay site at Portland, one of the RDA’s key economic development projects for the south-west.”