As we approach the midway point in the year Kitty and her crew have delivered an outstanding achievement. We are on track to have carried well over 1,000 passengers by the end of July, with a forecast of 400 passengers (our best ever) for the month of July alone.
As in previous years we are seeing more passengers from overseas taking cruises on Kitty, all these passengers are spending money in the Borough to a greater or lesser extent.
To date we have had over 60 charters, including passengers from local care homes, from local businesses, or just people who have something special to celebrate.
The two innovations that we started this year, cream tea cruises in conjunction with Kiwi and Scott and the Lightbox Late cruises have been booked up solidly.
We have welcomed 3 new crew members to the Kitty crew, and they are joining Team Kitty, Woking’s number 1 visitor attraction!
The biggest news is the Canal Society have signed and paid for a build slot with Brayzel Boats of Preston for the new all-electric Kitty II, with a delivery date of Q3/4 next year. The project team will be working with the builder to ensure a boat that satisfies our requirements through the process from the detailed design stage through to delivery.
In parallel we are working with SCC, WBC and Whitbread to agree cable routes to the power points at Bridge Barn and Woking Town Wharf.
Lastly on a sad note, another of the original Kitty crew members has sadly died. Richard Kelly was a stalwart in the early days when the operation was set up. Our thoughts are with his wife Anabel and his family.