CURRENT AND PREVIOUS INItiATIVES
HLSCC METAL WORKSHOP
The Association donated a 40' container to the H. Lavity Stoutt Community College Marine Professional Training Programme in July, 2020. The container will serve as a storage facility for hardware used to rebuild the Paraquita Bay Marine Shelter.
Once this is complete, the container will be converted into a metal workshop so that students in the MPT Programme will have a better facility in which to learn the relevant skills.
PARAQUITA BAY MARINE SHELTER The Paraquita Bay Marine Shelter was implemented in 1996 after the charter industry and the BVI Government agreed on the necessity of a hurricane shelter in order to sustain the industry. The shelter is maintained by the Marine Association and a long-standing partnership with Government grants access from June 1st to November 30th every year. In previous years the Marine Shelter grew to be the summer home to over 400 vessels. Sadly, it was badly damaged in Hurricane Irma (2017). The facility has been redesigned and rebuilt from the seabed up and is now capable of storing over 120 vessels safely during a hurricane. Materials are on hand for rapid expansion to previous levels, should the request be made. Many of the allocations in the shelter are owned by charter companies, although there are some available for seasonal bookings by members of the Association. In addition, The Association has provided complimentary hurricane moorings for local fishermen and the H. Lavity Stoutt Community College. Commercial Dive Serves Ltd. has been instrumental in the installation and maintenance of this facility. |
HLSCC MARINE PROFESSIONAL TRAINING PROGRAM
Whilst this program is very much the initiative of the H. Lavity Stoutt Community College, our members could not have been more excited to participate in the curriculum formation process.
The curriculum is a perfect fit to train people to enter the marine industry in the BVI, and many of our members take interns from the program in order to assist.
In addition the Marine Association is proud to partner with HLSCC in order to share resources to make the Paraquita Bay Marine Shelter a valuable educating space outside of hurricane season, where student can learn further skills in navigation.