Queenborough Harbour Safety Warning

The aluminium access bridge and connecting bridge between the walkway and wooden hammerhead pontoon have now been imposed with weight load restrictions, declared by our structural engineer. The aluminium canting brow & bridge at the Crundell’s Wharf end is now restricted to a maximum of 4 people (or 400 kg) along the total length of the bridge. The connecting bridge between the all-tide walkway and wooden hammerhead pontoon is now restricted to a maximum of 2 people (or 200 kg) along the total length of the bridge.

Vacancy at Queenborough Harbour

Queenborough Harbour Trust is looking for a Harbour Operative to join their enthusiastic and professional team, supporting the day to day running of the harbour operationally and administratively as well as being involved in its future development. See below or contact Danielle Russon for more information.

Chatham Marina Lock Maintenance, 2-22 Jan 2023

As with previous years, January brings the planned maintenance required to ensure the lock continues to run smoothly, the annual lock maintenance for 2023 will take place between Monday 2nd and Sunday 22nd January.

The lock will have restricted access between Monday 2nd and Wednesday 4th January and after this the lock will be out of use, so access and egress will not be possible. Thank you for your understanding and we apologise for any inconvenience this may cause.

MDL Marinas now demanding non-refundable payment for advance bookings

At least two local clubs have been put off booking rallies to Chatham Marina by demands for full payment in advance, even when the booking is for many months away. Fortunately other local marinas are available.

MDL have confirmed that these payments are non-refundable though bookings may be changed to other dates at their discretion. The change is the result of a new online booking system that issues an invoice per boat for each booking. The booking is automatically cancelled if payment is not made within 48 hours.

This unrealistically rigid requirement goes against the tradition of club cruising in the UK, which expects flexibility to allow for the vagaries of British weather and all the other uncertainties of boating. How long before MDL’s management realise their catastrophic mistake?

UPDATE: See below for replies, including from MDL’s Sales and Marketing Director, Tim Mayer. We understand that better arrangements will now be put in place to accommodate advance group bookings.

Better news from Dover Marina

LIMITED BERTHS FOR VISITORS NOW AVAILABLE FROM 4 JULY 2022

We recently advised that some important works had to be undertaken during the 2022 summer season in order to enable the new marina and boatyard to fully open in 2023, and that this regrettably meant the temporary closure of Dover Marina to new customers and visitors during a three-month period from mid-May. Following better than anticipated progress and excellent cooperation from our existing berth holders, we have been able to review our temporary closure decision and Dover Marina is very pleased to report that we will now be able to offer limited availability of berths for visitors throughout the summer, commencing 4th July.

In order to effectively manage our limited capacity, anyone considering a visit to Dover Marina must email or telephone the Marina Office to secure an available berth before sailing to Dover.

Contact details for the Marina Office are as follows:
Email: marina@doverport.co.uk
Tel: +44 (0) 1304 241 663

We now very much look forward to seeing some visitors to Dover over the next few months ahead of many more arriving in 2023 when we will be fully open and operational

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.

Gillingham Marina is hiring

To help us deliver exceptional service we are looking to recruit a Marina Operative to join the Berthing Team. Working as part of a small hard-working team this role will include, but is not limited to:

⚓ Assisting with safe boat lifting and yard operations

⚓ Carrying out Lock Keeper duties

⚓ General maintenance around the site

⚓ Regular site patrols and maintaining site cleanliness

⚓ Welcoming visitors and serving fuel

A good knowledge of boats and experience driving plant would be a significant advantage but not essential as training, where required, will be given.

If you feel you could be part of our team please send your CV with a covering letter to:

📧 berthing@gillingham-marina.co.uk

Queenborough Harbour FULL, 2-5 June

If you haven’t already booked, please be aware that with the Jubilee Pageant and several large group bookings, Queenborough Harbour is expecting to be VERY FULL, especially on the Friday. You are advised to check with the harbour (07456 459754) before planning on coming to Queenborough on the Jubilee weekend.

Dover Marina to close mid-May to end Aug 2022

Boaters planning to cruise to Dover and beyond this summer should be aware of the following notice buried inconspicuously on the Dover Marina website: “Final work is being undertaken to enable our new marina to open along with a wider marina improvement programme that will unlock a number of further benefits, including the opening of our new boat yard. These are exciting times, and we can’t wait for you to be part of it, but to enable us to continue making progress as quickly as possible and be ready to welcome you properly in 2023, we need to deliver other works in 2022, which will require us to temporarily close Dover Marina to new customers including Visitors this summer from 13th of May to the end of August 2022.