It always feels good to receive recognition for what we are doing on Snark. Over the past few months a number of organisations have acknowledged that we are getting it right for diverse reasons.
Devon County Council – Devon Elevation Fund & Community Renewal Fund
After two years of lockdown purdah and tightened belts it was a welcome endorsement to be recognised as an important element of the diverse Devon tourist economy. The Devon County Council has awarded us a grant through their Devon Elevation Fund, to help us re-boot our marketing and PR for the coming season and future years. The grant of £11,000 has allowed us to commission a specialist marketing company to review and upgrade our web site, optimise its search engine performance, prepare and manage print and on line advertising and social media marketing and run a focussed press and corporate relations campaign.
International Travel and Hospitably Awards
'We are proud to announce that in recognition of its unique and good value offers Snark Limited has been selected by an independent panel of travel professionals to receive the 2022 award for The Best UK Sailing Holiday'
and before you say it no we didn't pay for the honour!
Snark works in the natural world. We see at first hand the impact of human excess on the climate, biodiversity, plastic and chemical pollution and over development. We can’t stay silent on these issues so as well as a public commitment to becoming net zero by 2030 we have applied to and been accepted by the Business Declares network connecting us to like minded commercial partners and advocates.
The Green Blue Code is jointly prepared by the RYA and British Marine to provide guidance to leisure and commercial boats on how to minimise their impact on the marine environment. On Snark we follow these guidelines as closely as we can. Please have a read if your travelling with us to get an idea of what you can do to help conserve and restore our marine ecosystems.
National Historic Ships
Snark is a modern version of a design of coastal sprit sail barges built by J G Fay of Southampton in 1898. She has been recently been listed on the historic ships replica register as a vessel of national significance. The register is managed by National Historic Ships, the organisation which is the hub of the historic vessel world in the UK. In addition to identifying and recording historic vessels the NHS-UK also assesses maintenance and development grants for historic vessels and maritime museums.
The MCA is the organisation that writes the regulations covering most aspects of commercial shipping in the UK. Snark is licenced or ‘coded’ under MGN 280 to sail in category 2 waters (up to 60 miles from a safe haven) with up to 12 passengers and 3 crew on board. She is re-licensed every year. Everything from safety equipment to hull condition, crew qualifications to training and maintenance is covered. This year we sailed through our inspection with only minor conditions, an endorsement that we take our passengers safety seriously as we head into our new season.
For the full wonder of the regulations follow the link below.