
IOS Round the Island Race, 31 Aug & 1 Sept 2019

Note the main around the Island race this year is on SUNDAY 9 September. Full details at www.iossc.org.uk/islandrace
The Swale Regatta is this weekend with races on Friday, Saturday and Sunday morning. More details on Swale Regatta website.
Four boats from Hoo Ness YC made it to the Nore Race and Lodestar (a classic Stella sailed by Mark and Helen Montgomery-Smith) won its class. See Benfleet YC website for the full provisional results. Winds were lighter and some of the slower boats struggled against the strong ebb.
Members of a Swale-based sailing club have been sickened by the theft of a £1400 defibrillator that was bought two years ago after they lost a member to a heart attack. Read more at Kent Online…
Following a complaint by Whitstable Yacht Club, a report published on the Marine Management Organisation’s website acknowledges that the presence of oyster trestles causes or is likely to cause obstruction or danger to navigation, whilst concluding that the farm’s operations are nevertheless acceptable as a low risk to marine navigation.
In response, the RYA has formally written to the Director of Marine Licensing at the MMO setting out their concerns with the report and arguing that the measures put in place since the investigation started do not negate the need for a marine licence. The RYA considers that these trestles require a full marine licence on the basis that they could cause obstruction or danger to navigation.
Isle of Sheppey Sailing Club will be hosting the world famous Round the Island Race, a true “tick in the box of life” for leisure and professional sailors. This year the event is open to all types of “non mechanical” vessels including windsurfers, rowers and stand-up paddleboards as well as dinghies and catamarans. Estimated number of entries: 50 – 100 boats.
UPDATE: Phone number for the race will be 01795 663052 and will be on channel 37 Call sign Shepp.
Handicap cruiser racing off Southend Pier, starting and finishing from the Leigh Buoy. Entry open to all bona fide cruising yachts. Entry form and race instructions can be downloaded from www.benfleetyachtclub.org
Entries to be received by Wednesday 12 July. Entry Fee £5.
Course: Start at the Leigh Buoy, West Shoebury, Nore Swatch, Mid Swatch, Leigh Buoy, West Shoebury, Leigh Buoy, Mid Swatch, Nore Swatch, West Shoebury, Finish at the Leigh Buoy
For further information please contact Rob Scriven, rscriven(at)btopenworld.com
The annual Nore Race was held on Sunday, organised by Benfleet Yacht Club. The 17 nautical mile course in the Thames Estuary attracted a hundred sailing dinghies and cruisers, including multihulls, many from the Medway and Swale.
Concern is growing for a missing sailor after a 12 ft catamaran was found drifting in the Thames Estuary on Saturday. The white New Cat 12 was discovered 27 miles north east of the North Foreland at about 8 pm with no one on board. Coastguards found a black North Face rucksack on board containing items of clothing, maps and a small quantity of cash, but no clue to identity. It has now been towed into Ramsgate Harbour. If you have any information please call 101 for Kent Police and quote reference 26-1235. Read more at Kent Online.