Month: July 2021

Commodore of local club crosses Atlantic TWICE, single-handed

Segas Sailing Club commodore John Molloy has returned safely back into UK waters arriving off Hugh Town in the Scilly Isles late this afternoon. Some time ago John left the UK to sail around the world in his yacht Aronele, a Rival 36. Martin Kuhn, Segas SC vice commodore, and Erica his wife, crewed with him on Aronel for the first leg down to Portugal. John then sailed single-handed to the Caribbean via the Canaries, intending to reach the Pacific via the Canadian North West Passage. He then worked his way up the East coast of the USA. 

Unfortunately Covid struck and he had to abandon Aronele at a boatyard in Chesapeake Bay.  John made it back to the UK on one of the last flights, just before the lockdown. Once he had had both Covid vaccines, John flew back to the States to re commission Aronele. His original plan to sail through the North West Passage had to be abandoned as the Canadian Government had closed it off to all yachts. Some weeks ago John set sail for the UK across the Atlantic Ocean, again single handed.

Isle of Sheppey Round The Island Race, 5 Sept 2021

  •  40-mile clockwise circumnavigation of the Isle Of Sheppey
    in north Kent organised by IOS Sailing Club
  • The UK’s longest annual dinghy, cat & board race!
  • Established since 1959 as an endurance event
  • Open to all classes of dinghy, catamaran & sailboard
  • Sea, river & estuary sailing with tidal conditions
  • In popular years 100-300 competitors have taken part
  • Every competitor successfully completing the course receives a circumnavigation certificate signed by the Commodore
  • SailRacer Live GPS Tracking
  • Part of the2021 Allen Endurance Series

Please note: the race will be limited to 50 boats, pre-entry online will only be accepted beforehand due to covid restrictions and numbers in IOSSC club house. Please refer to web site www.iossc.org.uk

Mystery obstruction near Sun Pier

Something big and metallic on the river bed

Richard Bain of Jetstream Tours has found an obstruction just outside of the upper end of the Sun Pier (Rats Bay) buoys. It seems to be metallic and sits proud of the river bed by an estimated 3 metres. His vessel had struck the object in October last year but as Peel Ports had surveyed the area the previous day and found nothing it was assumed to be just a driftwood strike. 

Yesterday Richard heard the metallic clang again, so stopped and did a drift over it, capturing this image on his echo sounder. Peel Ports have been informed but no marker has been put down yet.

UPDATE 16.09.2021: Peel Ports have now marked the location with an orange pellet buoy which says “wreck.”

RNSA get reprieve, moorings available

The RNSA Medway has agreed a lease with Homes England to remain at the Mast Slip in the Chatham Historic Dockyard until at least the end of 2022. This means that the RNSA can promote their moorings in the river Medway.

The RNSA has its roots in the Royal Navy and other associated groups such as the Royal Navy Reserves and the Sea Cadets. The membership is extended to the civilian community, who make up the majority of the members at Chatham. The membership encompasses like-minded souls with interests in sailing as well as motor boating, providing a warm and friendly atmosphere. 

The RNSA Medway is based at the Mast Slip at Chatham just down river from Turks Boatyard at the Chatham Historic Dockyard. The compound around the Mast Slip is secure with a dedicated access. The group owns and operates 28 swinging moorings in Chatham Reach, either side of Chatham Marina lock gates. The moorings are regularly maintained and can support yachts up to a maximum of 36ft in length. Access is by dinghy from the slipway

The facilities at the Mast Slip compound include an extended walkway into the river on the slipway along with secure storage for tenders and storage for outboards in a dedicated and secure container. Trailer dinghies can also be stored on site for those members interested in sailing of this type. There is a Ward Room where members can meet as well as a workshop. 

The moorings charges are £495 per year plus a membership fee to the RNSA Medway. For more information please contact Maurice Smith, Moorings Master, on 07973 404117.

CA Kent Section

Clifford Mickleburgh has handed over running of the Kent Section of the Cruising Association to Sue and David Long, who many of us have met at the popular Winter Warmer talks. They will be using the CA system for newsletters and Eventbrite for bookings for face to face meetings. This year’s Winter Warmer talks will be held as Zoom webinars to give some certainty. The CA Zoom licence allows up to 1,000 participants so numbers shouldn’t be a problem.

They are planning to resume face to face meetings when it is safe and financially viable to do so. Anyone who wishes to receive the programme flyer and newsletters and is not a CA member can contact Sue and David at kent@theca.org.uk to be registered as prospective CA members. They will need to agree to their name being on the CA list under GDPR regulations. The CA will contact them annually to check they are still happy to remain on the list. This will allow them to be invited to the face to face meetings when they resume.