The contractors are back, so the hard will be closed for 2 days.
Month: July 2019
BOB rescued by SB Centaur
Mick Nolan of the Thames Sailing Barge Trust has written an excellent account of a practice session with the MSBA’s rescue dummy “BOB”. Click below to read or download the article. Contact the MSBA via info@msba.org.uk if your club or organisation wants to borrow BOB.
RYA Dinghy Hire Fleets
Would your club like more youngsters on the water for race training, regattas and fun weekends? Contact the YTF (Youth Training Fund) which manages 6 Fevas, 6 Teras and 12 Optibats for the RYA London and South East region. Start off in the Oppies, move on to a Tera or just get straight into a Feva which is a high performance, double handed dinghy with spinnaker. The Fevas come with training sails as well as mylar racing mains. All boats are fully equipped to be ‘rigged, launched and sailed’ and come on stacker road trailers. If the Fevas are too racy, try the Tera which is gaining popularity. Otherwise you have the fantastically reliable Optibat, the real starter boat which leads on to the Optimist and other classes which can be seen all over the world.
Oppies on a trailer 
Fevas on a trailer 
Fevas racing on the Thames 
Optibats 
Teras
RYA L&SE Hire Fleet Charges 2019 5 days 2 days
Optibats (1 trailers with 6 boats) £300 £180
Teras (1 trailer with 6 boats) £390 £230
Fevas (1 trailer with 3 boats) £300 £180
Download a Booking Enquiry form from RYA website or contact Pip Deverson at ryalsehire@ryalse.org.uk or mobile 07768 240467
Port Authority pays for yacht club pontoon
The burgeoning membership of Benfleet Yacht Club are benefitting from new £9,500 pontoon funded by the Port of London Authority. Rowers, kayakers and paddle-boarders appreciate the low level pontoon which makes acess to the water easier. Miles Featherstone, the PLA’s assistant harbour master for the lower tidal Thames, said “That’s why we are investing in practical improvements like this pontoon … to make it more accessible for people to enjoy.” John Hancock, Vice Commodore at BYC, said “We are a self-help club, not a commercial organisation, so greatly appreciate the PLA’s generosity in supporting this new pontoon. It not only widens our offering, but is fundamental to our ability to keep up with growing demand. Above all it underpins our absolute commitment to doing things safely.” In June, BYC hosted the annual 18-mile Nore Race, started in the 1920s, in which many Medway and Swale yachts take part. Read more…
Maidstone River Festival, 27 July 2019
Thanks to sponsorship by Weston Homes, the Maidstone River Festival is back after a pause of a few years and we are planning a day all the family can enjoy. The River Festival started 40 years ago and people of all ages in Maidstone have great affection for what was the county town’s biggest annual event. We’ll have dressed up boats, raft races, fun and games for all the family. There will be illuminated boats in the evening and it will all end with a big bang as an award-winning fireworks display will go off from the top of Fremlin Walk in the town centre.
More info at www.maidstoneriverfestival.info
Swale Smack and Barge Match, 10 Aug 2019 – CANCELLED DUE TO WEATHER
There’s nowhere better to be than at sea to watch the 50-odd traditional vessels that are expected to attend. But for those not afloat there are good vantage points at the point at Harty Ferry, on Tankerton slopes and down at Herne Bay where competitors round the outer mark just off the pier. The first start is at 10.30 from Sand End in the East Swale and you can expect vessels to heading back into the Swale around 2pm onwards. More info at www.kentishsail.org
Blackstakes buoy gone for good
The cylindrical yellow buoy on the south side of Saltpan Reach has again been removed by Peel Ports without notice, this time permanently. The Blackstakes buoy was a racing mark, located to keep boats well away from the LNG Terminal, as we are constantly exhorted to do by Peel Ports. As in 2016, the unexpected removal of the buoy has caused unnecessary inconvenience to clubs which race in the Medway estuary. Enquiries by Medway YC and the MSBA elicited the response from Peel Ports that the buoy was considered “not commercially viable” and today a notice to mariners was belatedly issued. The two adjacent commercial mooring buoys (Saltpan Nos. 8 and 9) have been given a fresh coat of yellow paint (see photo) but this does not mean they are a replacement for Blackstakes. There has been no explanation of why the clubs were not notified in advance of the buoy’s removal.
Adult sailing sessions at Medway YC, Saturdays
Medway Yacht Club is running “adult sailing sessions” on Saturday mornings. The participants can sail their own boats or clubs boats and one instructor will be on water giving advice and training. The informal session is open to all the sailing abilities and levels, from beginner to advanced. It will give a chance to spend time on water, to learn new skills and techniques, to try new boats or simply warm up and try the rig tuning for the afternoon racing. The informal sailing sessions start at 9.00 and finish around 12.00. The price is £5 per session.
RYA Powerboat Training at Medway YC
Medway Yacht Club will be running RYA Powerboat Training sessions on Thursdays and Fridays, 9.00 to 16.00. The price for the Powerboat Level 2 will be £120 for members (including members of local MSBA/RYA affiliated clubs) and £185 for non members. The first RYA Powerboat Level 2 course will be available on 18 and 19 July. If anyone is interested please book a place at training@medwayyachtclub.com at least a couple of days before the date. Or you can come into the office and Inti, the new senior instuctor, will sign you up. The Powerboat Level 2 will be run on a regular basis and Inti will endeavour to keep the course open every Thursday and Wednesday. The maximum number of places is 3 but 1-to-1 sessions are available. The first RYA Safety Boat course will be on the 15 and 16 August with the same ratio as Powerboat Level 2, from 9.00 to 16.00 and the price will be £100.
Another mystery boat on Rochester Pier
“Chequered Flag” has been moored without permission on Rochester Pier for at least two weeks. Adam Taylor of Medway Council says it will be seized and sold if not removed by 18 July. If you know who owns the boat please let us or Adam know.
UPDATE 24.7.2019: Chequered Flag moved to Gillingham Pier without permission, it was ‘held’ until the owners collected it and now it is moored on the poles beside Gillingham Pier. It’s possible it may move again, hopefully not to Sun Pier!