Public mooring at Sun Pier pontoon has been suspended until further notice.
Category: Medway Council
Sun Pier
Owing to recent squat mooring issues and an electrical assessment of the pontoons at Sun Pier, Medway Council has suspended public day mooring until further notice.
Only emergency services and river tour operators will have access to the pontoons whilst further assessments are made, and repairs organised.
In addition to the suspension, Medway Council plans to remove the pontoons for dry docking and repairs in early September for a period of 6 weeks before being reinstated to provide improved mooring facilities.
“Improvements to Commodore’s Hard The Strand”
“Improvements to Commodore’s Hard The Strand”
The MSBA is pleased to advise that Medway Council has secured some funding to undertake surface repairs to the slipway at The Commodore’s Hard. These improvements include constructing a concrete pad to complete the end of the access road where it meets the beach.
The concrete will be more resistant to the salt water and reduce future maintenance costs in addition to a hatched area to provide additional access for emergency vehicles.
These improvements will be undertaken during weekdays over the coming months but may mean the slipway is out of use for a couple of days at a time”
Consultation on Chatham Docks redevelopment, Wed 29 June
Peel Land & Property are hosting two open events (one is past) to understand the local community’s opinions on their masterplan for the regeneration of Chatham Docks Industrial Estate.
Peel Land & Property is bringing forward an exciting vision for the regeneration of Chatham Docks Industrial Estate. They are hosting two open events to share this vision with the local community and understand feedback and opinions on their initial early masterplan design.
Peel L&P claim that the lock gates will cease to operate beyond 2025 and are currently working with the local authority and existing port tenants to find suitable relocation options. This timeline provides an opportunity to engage and listen to the community, local businesses, charities and wider stakeholders, ensuring that the vision for Chatham Docks Industrial Estate is aligned with what Medway needs to be: a place where people want to continue to live, work and play for generations to come.
Where: Unit 4, Ground floor, The Kell, Gillingham Gate Road, Gillingham, ME4 4SA (opposite the Waterfront UTC)
When: Wednesday 29 June, 10:00am -7:00pm
If you are unable to attend, you can provide feedback via the Chatham Waters website www.chathamwaters.co.uk.
MSBA Business Meeting Tues 28 June, Gillingham Marina
Please ensure your club or organisation is represented at our next quarterly business meeting, which will be at Gillingham Marina on Tuesday 28 June at 7pm. If you’d like to get a drink before the meeting please gather at the Quarterdeck bar (near the boat hoists) from 6.30pm. Depending on numbers, the meeting will most likely proceed at the marina’s Leisure Centre with its superb view of the river. The marina’s security staff will give you directions if it’s your first visit.
The agenda and minutes will be emailed out shortly. If you don’t receive the email please contact secretary@msba.org.uk with your contact details.
Jubilee Pageant, Sat 4 June
This will be a HUGE event on the Medway on the Saturday afternoon involving over 100 vessels of all sizes. The boats will form an orderly queue in Saltpan Reach at 12.30 and will then proceed slowly up to Chatham for about 15.30 whereupon there will be a Grand Cacophony. The classic gentleman’s launch Lilian will take the lead and a Switzer tug will bring up the rear. NO VESSEL THAT IS NOT REGISTERED FOR THE EVENT SHOULD COME BETWEEN THESE TWO. Please read the Notice to Mariners below for more details.
The Queen’s Platinum Jubilee – Maritime Salute
Peel Ports London Medway invites all vessels to participate in a synchronised salute from their horns at 12:00 on Saturday 4 June 2022 to celebrate the platinum jubilee of Queen Elizabeth II. All UK ports have been approached by the Secretary of State for Transport to assist in the co-ordination of the tribute. Notice to Mariners No 27 of 2022 refers.
Note this is a nationwide maritime salute and is separate from the Queen’s Jubilee Pageant organised by Tiller & Wheel on behalf of Medway Council, which will include a 21 gun salute and “Grand Cacophony” at Chatham at 15:30.
Rochester Pier collapse
We have just been informed that the brow connecting Rochester Pier to the shore has suddenly collapsed. The public pier, maintained by Medway Council, has been closed since 2019 due to the dangerous state of the structure and lack of funds to repair it.
Loss of visitor moorings at Chatham
The Rats Bay visitor moorings near Sun Pier at Chatham have now been removed by Peel Ports to make room for visiting vessels at the Queen’s Jubilee Pageant on 4 June.
Sun Pier and Rochester Pier (awaiting repair to the brow) are now the only free public moorings on the Medway, both council-run, but are not supposed to be for used for overnight mooring. At each pier a token must be purchased from a machine for re-entry to the pontoon.
Viking ship remains found at Rochester
The Romans, Anglo-Saxons and Normans have left plenty to see in Rochester, but until today (1 April) there has been no trace of the Vikings who visited in 842 and 884 AD. Although they were unable to take the city, they stayed until 885 AD when most of them were sent on their way by Alfred the Great. A few were allowed to remain in their fortified encampment, which according to the Anglo Saxon Chronicles was “by the entrance of the city”. Unfortunately the city, being of Roman design, had four entrances so until now the site was unknown. As the Vikings came by water they would probably have used the North Gate, which opened onto the marshes now being developed as Rochester Riverside, and this has been confirmed by Kent Archaeologists today.
Workmen digging near the site of Acorn Wharf have uncovered remains of Scandinavian ninth century weapons and traces of a clinker-built ship of the style used by Vikings led by the warrior Guthrum.
A spokesman for the Medway Heritage Harbour Group said, “This exciting discovery supports our claim that Rochester has considerably more maritime heritage than meets the eye. The Romans, Saxons and Normans understood the strategic importance of the location, being where Watling Street crosses the Medway. Medway Council must ensure that the site is properly excavated and protected for use by future generations of boaters.”