Going, Going Gone!
There were certainly bargains to be had for boat lovers at the Boat Auction and Charity Jumble held at the Blackwater Marina in Mayland on 7th October 2018.
Paul Wollrough was the auctioneer and Dave Selby led the proceedings. Many of the boats were sold in lieu of debt and some on behalf of the owners. Each boat sold came with three months storage, which depending on the length of the boat ranged from £200 to £606.
There was no buyer’s premium to pay instead 6% of the buying price went to three charities, the RNLI, Maldon Sea Cadets and Gain, which is close to Dave’s heart as he suffers from the rare disease of Chronic Inflammatory Demyelinating Polyneuropathy knows as CIDP for short and Gain is the charity for this disease.
He told us that he woke up one morning and was paralysed from the waist down. He got better but it reoccurred again 4 weeks later. His legs last for 4 weeks and 2 days which is a lunar month. He then spends 3 days in hospital being pumped with antibodies from 100 donors. It doesn’t stop his passion for sailing though.
Seventeen boats were sold. Dave was happy that they had found new owners and were given a chance to bring pleasure and show that having fun on the water doesn’t need to be too expensive. The price paid ranged from £6 for a canoe to £1,400 for a Blackwater Sloop with the whole £1,400 generously donated to the charities by the seller. £1,948.17 was raised in total and divided between the three charities. Some boats sold came with a trailer which was worth more than the boat. Buy a trailer and get a boat free was the selling point. Certainly, a boat auction with a difference.
Dave would like to thank the RNLI for the rescue demonstration on River Blackwater and Blackwater Marina staff who gave up their time for free.
