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ALL AT SEA JUNE 2022
MARINA FOCUS QUEEN ANNE’S BATTERY
Marina Manager: Chris Price Queen Anne’s Battery Plymouth, Devon PL4 0LP T: 01752 671 142 W: queenannesbattery.co.uk E: qab@mdlmarinas.co.uk Postcode for a Sat Nav is PL4 0LP
Home of the popular Green Tech Boat Show, MDL’s Queen Anne’s Battery marina can be found in the centre of Plymouth. The marina is close to the city’s popular waterside Barbican area, laced with quaint cobblestone lanes and home to independent shops, restaurants and the Plymouth Gin Distillery. Plymouth is a legendary nautical city which has played centre stage to some of the world’s greatest voyages of exploration and discovery. The Pilgrim Fathers set sail on the Mayflower from Plymouth on 16 September 1620 to make their historic voyage to North America. It was also the home port of the Elizabethan seadog Sir Francis Drake, and Sir John Hawkins and Sir Walter Raleigh both lived there. The name itself - Queen Anne’s Battery – refers to a small Tudor-built fort on Teat’s Hill with 14 gun portholes, which was used to defend Plymouth from the Dutch in the 1680s.
MDL became joint operator of Queen Anne’s Battery marina in 1989, and in 1995 became sole operator. Since its acquisition, MDL has completed major improvements and refurbishments to make QAB the stunning haven it is today, offering outstanding facilities for yachtsmen and motor cruisers alike. Most recently, QAB has become the home of MDL’s Green Tech Boat Show. The show is specifically designed for boat owners wishing to make the switch to greener options, and prospective owners who would like to start their boating journey in the most environmentally-friendly way possible. The show is being held over 17 - 18 June and will see marine businesses highlighting their green products and technologies, allowing consumers to understand the sustainable choices available to them.
FACILITIES & BERTHING
QAB has 235 berths for boats up to 18m and a visitors’ area with an alongside pontoon berthing. The marina has an on-site chandlery, brokers and yacht charter, as well as a café, bar and restaurant. It is also home to the Royal Western Yacht Club, which moved from Plymouth Hoe in 1989, and has hosted the start and finish of many international short-handed yacht races, including the single-handed Transatlantic Race, the Round Britain Race and the finish of the prestigious
Rolex Fastnet Race. Offering excellent boatyard facilities for boat repairs or maintenance work, QAB has a wide range of marine trades such as marine electronics, riggers, GRP repairs and engineers on-site. There is a 40-ton Wise hoist, allowing boats to be launched seven days a week, and plenty of storage ashore including an area for small boats. Launch and recovery services are also available, enabling boats on trailers to be launched off the slipway throughout the week, which is great for trailer sailors.
A recent addition to the facilities at QAB is MDL Fitness, an eco-friendly gym. Open to local residents, berth holders and visitors, users can transform their workouts into a power source in the 35-plus station gym, which features innovative SportArt ECO-POWR™ equipment. The ECO-POWR™ treadmills, cross trainers and bicycles harness up to 74 per cent of a user’s kinetic energy spent exercising, before converting it to utility grade electricity.
