Win £500 for Charity and a VIP Day Out

The first of three crew transfer vessels commissioned for the London Array wind farm arrived in Ramsgate last Friday.

Named the Marianarray, after Mariana Rigg, the wife of longstanding London Array project director Richard Rigg, the 17m catamaran will be skippered by Simon Ellis, from Dane Crescent, and Pegwell Bay resident Nelson Wood. It will carry three crew and 12 passengers and reach the edge of the wind farm from Ramsgate in approximately 40 minutes.

The second vessel, which will be slightly larger at 20m, is scheduled to arrive in Ramsgate in late September. Like the Marianarray, it is being built in Great Yarmouth and will be operated by Gardline Environmental.

The Isle of Thanet Gazette, London Array and Gardline Environmental have teamed up to give local residents the chance to name the new boat.

The person submitting the winning entry will win £500 for a Thanet charity of their choice and a VIP trip for themselves and up to four friends or relations to Gardline Environmental’s boatyard in Great Yarmouth.

The winning name will be chosen by a panel made up of representatives of London Array, Gardline Environmental and the Isle of Thanet Gazette, with final approval given by the Maritime and Coastguard Agency. The winning name will be announced in September.

Entries should be sent to the Isle of Thanet Gazette, Suite 1, 3rd Floor, Mill Lane House, Mill Lane, Margate CT9 1JU, marked ‘London Array’ or by email to Rebecca.Smith@KRNMedia.co.uk with ‘London Array’ in the subject line.

The closing date for entries is 5pm on Wednesday, July 10.