Tributes paid to founder of Preston Marina, Chris Miller

Tributes have been pouring in following the death of Chris Miller. The founder of Preston Marina passed away after a short illness.

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Boaters have been paying tribute to the founder of Preston Marina, Chris Miller, who has died at the age of 76 following a short illness.

A passionate sailor, Chris established the marina in the city in  April 1990. It will now be run by his children, Sue and Steven.

On its website, Preston Marina wrote: “It is with enormous sadness that Preston Marina announces the passing of our Company founder Chris Miller after a short illness.”

“Chris will be remembered for his absolute commitment to delivering first class service to the boating community of Preston and the North West of England, with warm humour and generosity but most of all with dedication and sheer hard work – work that he loved,” it continued.

“He will be greatly missed.”

Those who knew Chris paid tribute to him on the marina’s Facebook page.

Barry Murphy wrote: “Chris was always our go to guy for solid common sense advice on sailing, backed up by a wealth of hard won experience, he was a modest man and a far better sailor than he let on and was always there to help the inexperienced.”

A former employee, Catherine Musgrove, wrote: “Very sorry to hear this. I only worked at the marina intermittently over 3 or 4 uni holidays, but he was always warm and approachable and extremely knowledgeable.”

Paul Butler shared the sentiment of many of those who knew Chris.

“He was a gent and I feel lucky to have met him and enjoyed many a conversation and tale in the boat yard,” he wrote.

“His willingness to help, ability to lift, shift and fix made him an old school legend who will never be forgotten.”

Chris’s funeral will be held at St. Mary’s Church, Penwortham on 6 October 2016, at 1pm.

As a mark of respect, Preston Marina will be closed on this day.

Since opening in 1990, the marina has become a hub of Lancashire’s boating community.

The marina has fully serviced pontoon berths, boatyard, chandlery, lifestyle shop and a waterside coffee shop.