A BOAT named in memory of Lt Aaron Lewis has been launched at an event attended by his parents Helen and Barry, and trustees of the Aaron Lewis Foundation.
The wheelchair-accessible Rigid Inflatable Boat was purchased for the Plymouth & Devon Schools Sailing Association (PDSSA) by the ALF and the Morrison Foundation. Aaron’s base with the 29 Commando Regiment was in Plymouth.
The PDSSA is a not-for-profit, volunteer-run water sports club that offers a range of RYA Sail and Powerboat activities for people of all abilities in the South West.
The organisation recently installed a hoist on the quayside for disabled members and guests to access some of the existing boats, but did not have means of taking people in wheelchairs safely out on the water.
But the new “Aaron Lewis” RIB has been configured to allow a wheelchair to be secured in the back.
The launch last month was attended by Helen and Barry Lewis and ALF trustee Steve Fraser, as well as representatives from PDSSA, the Plymouth Harbour Master, RYA Sailability South, Plymouth Marine and soldiers from 29 Commando Regiment RA (several of whom had served with Aaron in Afghanistan).
Steve said: “It was a great day full of mixed emotions only made possible by the incredible efforts of everyone involved with the Aaron Lewis Foundation.”