“We want to facilitate access for the those who’ve never been on a boat. Why not blow the market open and create the next cycling movement in boating?”
09/07/2020
The long-awaited merger between Quay Marinas and Dean & Reddyhoff has delivered a crisp appraisal of the marina industry. Now the largest group of coastal marinas around England, Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales, a fresh people-centric vision, embracing accessibility and above all, fun, is colourfully reflected in their innovative new brand.
“We wanted to reposition ourselves as the most accessible marina group in the UK.” describes Dominic Zammit, Head of Marketing for the group.
We have one clear mission: to create great places, make it easy for people to get on the water and have fun afloat. We aspire to democratise boating, reducing existing barriers.
During the COVID-19 lockdown, the group has been consistently active on social media, connecting with their local boating communities; a major key towards sustainable progression. Building on and boosting their existing connections both close to home with sea-schools, yacht brokers and watersports activities and further afield within the federative and associative boating fraternity, they hope to help identify the barriers blocking access to boating and work towards facilitating a more socially-active and attainable pastime.
Sustainable development naturally includes a proactive take on environmental issues, with boatfolk focussing on methods to reduce the use of single-use plastic and local conservation projects taking place in individual marinas
Quay Marinas: Passion & Experience
Each of the original six Quay Marinas are established members of TransEurope Marinas. Predominantly accredited with 5 Gold Anchors from The Yacht Harbour Association, they represent a highly developed model with significant prestige in the UK.
Quay Marinas are well-known for their focus on delivering consistently exceptional service and high-quality service across the group.
Zammit went on to praise the fact that “their staff are all amazingly experienced. Take Kevin Baird, who is both harbour master and manager of Bangor in Northern Ireland: all his team are RNLI volunteers. This is solid experience and this passion for boating is what we want to share with our customers.”
The new website: boatfolk.co.uk represents a significant departure from traditional marina sites. Notably absent are the photos of marinas; indeed, you have to look hard to find them. Instead images predominantly portray people enjoying their time out on the water. Not for nothing does the homepage strapline read “See things differently”. This novel orientation “is all about the people. We want to celebrate skills and expertise and share our in-house passion for boating. It’s a move away from the infrastructure and all about the experiences relevant to people today.”
A positive message then amidst the underlying concerns engendered by COVID-19. With a keen desire to promote collaboration across the boating community (after all, Zammit reminds us, we are all boat folk), this is an inspiring perspective and on behalf of TransEurope Marinas, we wish them well for the future.
