Village cheers new boat ramp

By Bridget Brady
AFTER four years of campaigning for upgrades, Blind Bight residents celebrated the official opening of their new and improved boat ramp on the weekend.
Members of the Blind Bight Boat Owners committee were over the moon when they heard earlier this year that approval had been granted for the upgrades, after a few years of tussling with government departments.
An old ramp was replaced with a new concrete one and a floating pontoon was installed.
About 60 people attended the official opening on Saturday.
The State Government contributed a $106,800 grant through the 2008/09 round of its Boating Safety and Facilities Program, and the boat owners committee and the City of Casey also contributed.
Boat club president Bob Wray said the improvements made it a lot easier for people to use the ramp because previously a lot of people found it hard to use the ladder to get off their boats.
Mr Wray said it was worth all the hard work.
“It took a lot of people a lot of time, but we did achieve a great thing,” Mr Wray said.
“It was well worth the effort.”
Mr Wray said he hoped the club would be able to gain funding for jetty upgrades in the future.
Roads and Ports Minister Tim Pallas said it was great to see the council and club making use of the grants program and working hard to raise their own money to bring better boating facilities to the community.