A Talk on the BTAC was given by Ashley at the October meeting.
Ashley gave a talk on the work of the Barton Turf Adventure Centre.
This is the charity chosen by the current and previous Commodores. 
Dee and Debs presented Ashley with a donation of £350 at the meeting.This being the proceeds of their charity fund for 2020 and 2021.
See story below
BARTON TURF ADVENTURE CENTRE – A SHORT HISTORY
The story starts in the 1950’s, when the Director of Education for Hertfordshire recognised the value of outdoor activities and took groups of school children to Barton Turf during the school holidays to sail on Barton Broad. The campsite was a field rented form a local farmer and the young people had to set up the camp, including the camp kitchen around the fire pit, dig latrines and rig and launch boats.
In the 1970’s Hertfordshire decided to make the Centre more permanent and purchased the current site from Cox’s Boatyard and the Farmer, rumour has it that this was done via a compulsory purchase order!
The Centre was developed over several years, mainly by volunteers. Buildings are mostly redundant prefabricated school classrooms from Hertfordshire schools which were dismantled, transported and erected on the site. The marshland was dug out to provide jetties to moor the boats (Staithes in Norfolk) and the moorings.
Eventually, a Head of Centre was appointed, and wages paid by HCC, in line with the other outdoor Centres being developed by HCC. Schools were encouraged to use the Centre, for Sailing during the summer months and Geography Field trips at other times.
In 2003 a reorganisation of the Outdoor Centres was undertaken, at this time HCC had, I believe, 5 outdoor centres, one in Norfolk, one in Snowdonia and 3 in Hertfordshire. The review recommended that this was reduced to one centre in Hertfordshire, the centre at Barton and two in Hertfordshire to be disposed of. A campaign was started by the Hertfordshire Sailing and Canoeing Association to save Barton Turf. This was also supported by several councillors who refused to close the Centre and tasked their officers with finding a way to keep it open, at no cost to HCC.
The operation of the Centre was put out to tender. The Council Officers served the staff with redundancy notices and shut the Centre before the tender process was complete. BTAC-Services won the tender and were granted a 25-year lease. Unfortunately, this process took approximately 18 months and the lease was not agreed until mid-way through July 2005, too late for most bookings that year.
BTAC has been building up the Centre, both in terms of the activities offered, facilities and services provided for groups since taking on the Centre, although the main activity is still sailing. Boats have been improved and renewed and additional craft have been purchased. Canoeing and Powerboating have been added as additional on water activities.
The accommodation on site is in tents, these have been repaired and replaced as needed and each tent is on a concrete base with 4 beds and mattresses in each. In the past groups using the Centre have had to self-cater, BTAC is able to offer a full catering service for groups who prefer this.
Additional activities such as environmental studies can be offered, as well as teambuilding and conservation.
The latest project is to provide a drying room for clients, which is currently underway, and they are seeking funds to fit this out, for a dehumidifier so that clients can dry wet clothing overnight. The estimated cost for this is £750 to £1000.
The Donation from SOCA will go towards this purchase
Who they are & what they do
Barton Turf Adventure Centre (BTAC) is a 7-acre private campsite and sailing school originally established for Hertfordshire schools’ use. Now run by Di Smith, Ashley Cato and Sheila Fishwick, its activities are open to everybody, but especially schools and youth groups.
They offer tuition for a range of adventurous (chiefly watersports) and environmental activities using Barton Broad and the 14-acre private nature reserve. The Centre has its own slipway into an arm of Barton Broad, and can launch and recover boats of up to about 6m in length, 2m beam, 0.5m draught (keels up). Wider boats have to be manhandled over the side of the quay, or launched through Cox’s Boatyard (for a fee). Boats may be moored overnight.
The camping facilities are open only to schools and other organised clubs and groups, and (subject to availability) to those booked on multi-day courses at the Centre. They have 11 permanent tents sleeping four each (in beds! but you need to bring your own sleeping bag and pillow).
Barton Broad is the second largest of the Norfolk Broads and arguably the best for sailing.
It has been subject to substantial improvement project recently undertaken by the Broads Authority aimed at restoring the silted broad to clear water. The project on the whole has been a success and Barton Broad is once again a real boating paradise.
The Broad is home to numerous wildlife, including many species of birds, fish and even otters who have returned to the Broad. The edge of the Broad is all nature reserve, and much of it is fenced off to provide fish-free areas where microlife can breed without being eaten. The Broad lies across the River Ant, and there is a certain amount of pleasureboat traffic moving through it. The Broad is about 2m deep at most. Power boats are subject to a 5mph speed limit.