The people of Faversham have voted by a large majority for the Creek Neighbourhood Plan, which was a condition by Swale Borough Council for the release of £200,000 to restore the swing bridge at the head of the Creek. Opening the bridge will enable regeneration of the Creek Basin, with wharves and dredging, to improve navigability along the Creek, increase tourism and make the area a great place for residents too.
Category: Yacht cruising
Stangate Creek now no anchoring zone
Anchoring in Stangate Creek in the heart of the Medway Estuary, which is a Marine Conservation Zone, is to be prohibited from today, April 1st, following the discovery of several colonies of tentacled lagoon worms Alkmaria romijni. These creatures normally only grow to a few millimetres but in the unique environmental conditions of the creek several specimens have been found up to a metre long hiding in the hitherto unsuspected coral formations. Known until now only to local fishermen, who used to supply the delicacy to the scampi factory in Queenborough, the worms are thought to have arrived on the bottoms of ships quarantined in the creek in the nineteenth century. A spokesman for the harbour authority, now known as Peel Ports London, announced that special worm-friendly moorings for recreational boaters will be installed using funds accumulated over many years from conservancy fees.
CA Winter Warmer: Capt Cook, Thurs 9 March
Nigel Rigby on Captain James Cook RN – Britain’s greatest mariner explorer, navigator, cartographer. Nigel works for the National Maritime Museum, which holds world-class collections of Cook-related material. The Museum has staged Cook exhibitions and galleries since it first opened in 1937, and it is currently developing a new gallery which is due to open in 2018, on the anniversary of Cook’s departure from Deptford. Nigel’s talk will look at how the Museum’s displays of Cook have changed over the years and how they are planning to use him in the new gallery.
The Cruising Association Kent Section Winter Warmers are held at The Dog & Bear Hotel, The Square, Lenham, ME17 2PG. Situated 8 miles east of Maidstone, just off the A20 in the village square. All are welcome. There is a small charge of £3. Many eat beforehand and it helps speed up service if you telephone the pub on 01622 858219 and order your meal before 5pm.
Nick Ardley book launch, Sat 23 July
Join the author at Baggins Book Bazaar, High St, Rochester, Sat 23 July, 1300-1500. Call Baggins on 01634 811651 to reserve a copy.
Rescued yachtsman thanks lifeboat crew
63-year-old yachtsman Ken Milburn, a member of Lower Halstow Yacht Club, has visited the RNLI station at Sheerness to personally thank the crew. In the early hours of 19 May Ken fell into the water when loading gear from his dinghy. Fortunately someone heard his cries for help and the crew of the Sheerness Inshore Lifeboat came to the rescue. Ken says a simple safety measure saved him, “Put your life jacket on. Go for a self-inflating one – fifty quid to save your life. Without one I would not be here!”
Yachtsman rescued from water in Halstow Creek
The Sheerness Lifeboat team reports that a man clinging for his life to a buoy for two hours in the dark in the Medway Estuary was rescued by a Good Samaritan and Sheerness RNLI lifeboat volunteers. The 64 year old man had transferred from his yacht moored in Halstow Creek to a dinghy which then capsized, leaving him in the perilously cold water alone at night. Eventually the man’s cries for help were heard by someone in a nearby house sparking an emergency 999 call to the Coastguard and a late night launch of Sheerness RNLI’s inshore lifeboat Eleanor at 12.05am on Thursday 19 May.
Within less than half an hour of leaving their beds, the charity’s volunteer crew reached the area at 12.27pm and immediately launched two flares to illuminate the dark night and assist their search. RNLI helmsman Mark Tucker said: ‘We spotted a man in a small rhib type boat next to a mooring buoy who we later learned had been alerted by a phone call saying that cries for help could be heard in the creek.The chap got into his boat and eventually located the casualty in the water where he was clinging to the buoy. Having found the man in the water the Good Samaritan hadn’t been able to get him out and so hung onto him until we arrived on the scene.’
As the lifeboat neared the scene crew member Kris White jumped into the water to support the casualty before getting him aboard the lifeboat with the support of his fellow RNLI crew members. Kris added: ‘It was a pitch black night and the water was extremely cold. The guy was in a bad way. He was so cold he looked blue. We think he had been in the water for two hours. He was lucky he’d been spotted and help came. I don’t know how much longer he could have held on if he’d been alone but the fact that he was wearing his lifejacket undoubtedly saved his life because apart from the extreme cold there was a very strong tide running which would have been impossible to swim against.’
‘This incident goes to show how quickly and unexpectedly things can go wrong, even in a sheltered creek. We’d urge everyone to carry a waterproof means of communication, whether that’s a radio, a mobile phone in a protective pouch or even flares, so that if they find themselves in a similar situation they can call for help.’
The casualty was taken to a nearby slipway where he was handed over to a waiting South East Coast Ambulance Service crew. It is not thought the man’s condition was life threatening.
The ILB crew had earlier been called at 5.55pm on Wednesday 18 May to assist in the recovery of a body found in the water at Strood Pier.
Follow the RNLI Sheerness Lifeboat’s activities on Facebook.
Nick Ardley: A Barging Childhood and Beyond, Thurs 14 Jan
This month’s Winter Warmer is brought to you by the Cruising Association Kent Section is by Nick Ardley – A Barging Childhood and Beyond: The Story of an Essex Sailor. This talk will take you on a journey which began in the early 1950s when Nick’s parents bought a spritsail barge to live and go yachting on. She was the May Flower, built in 1888. The tribulations and joys of a barging childhood are looked at before, with time moving on, Nick leaves home, first, as an engineer officer at sea, then for married life too. His girl, a Midlands’s maiden, was soon introduced to the silt laden waters of the Thames estuary.
We then follow Nick and his mate on a passage around the East Coast’s rivers between North Kent and mid Suffolk aboard their Finesse 24, Whimbrel. As they weave in and out of muddy creeks, Nick watches as the world passes slowly by, wondering. Once at anchor, we find that Nick is just as likely to continue exploring in a gunter dinghy, sometimes ‘dragging’ his mate with him, to search for the lost world that rests amongst our salt marsh and mud.
Non CA members are welcome. There is a charge of £3 for the talk, which starts at 8pm. The pub offers a special menu for these events so come to eat at 7pm. Call the Dog and Bear, Lenham, on 01622 858219 by 5pm to book your meal.
Nick Ardley extols the Swale
Run, don’t walk! Get the latest (“October”) issue of Yachting Monthly to read a two page article by Nick Ardley, who spoke at our Medway/Swale Boating Conference, describing in his unique dream-like style an idyllic sailing trip through the Swale with insights into its industrial past. Did you know there used to be a link between the Swale and Stangate Creek?
Aground in Style
On the East Coast they say if you don’t go aground you’re not trying hard enough. The crew of this yacht seen in Sharfleet on Saturday evening must have been trying very hard. They did the traditional thing and got out to scrub the bottom while they had the opportunity.
RYA responds to renewed Red Diesel concerns
The advice on the RYA’s website concerning going to Belgium with red diesel in your tank does not seem to have changed. However the latest Yachting Monthly states that the Belgian government has announced that it will once again be enforcing its ban on dyed fuel. The MSBA has today asked Gus Lewis, Head of Legal & Government Affairs at the RYA, for clarification and this is his reply:
“Last year the Belgian Government issued a formal statement to the effect that UK boaters would not be penalised for the presence of red diesel in their yachts’ fuel tanks. That formal position statement was time-limited and it expired at the end of last year.
“The Belgian Government has so far declined to reissue its formal position statement but our understanding is that, at a practical level at least, nothing has changed since last year and while it continues to be unlawful for recreational boaters to use red diesel in Belgium no action will be taken in relation to fuel bought in the UK.
“We are not aware of any UK boaters having been fined in Belgium this year for having red diesel in their yachts’ fuel tanks.”
UPDATE: RYA urges local marinas to lobby Belgian Government on red diesel