I hope everyone is coping with this icy weather. A few things have come up over the past few days and I thought it easier to put them in one message rather than several shorter emails.
Frozen Water at the club
The cold weather has caused the club fresh water to freeze. The whole site has been isolated so that when it defrosts it can be turned back on in a controlled manner and checks made for burst pipes and leaks to prevent any further damage. This obviously means that the toilets can not be flushed and are out of action.
Gillingham Marina Chandlery closing down sale.
I added a post to the website recently about a sale at Gillingham Marina Chandlery. I don’t think it mentions that they are closing down. It has been mentioned by a member today that everything is now reduced to 50% It could be worth a look to see if there are any bargains.
I understand that Pirates Cave will be opening a shop inside the marina in the New Year.
Sails still on boats in the yard
I know the weather hasn’t been conducive to get sails off the boats over the past few weeks, but we have had a couple of boats blow over in the wind during winter storms in the past and would like to reduce the risk.
Earlier this year in the Spring there was a very narrow escape with one boat having its genoa coming unfurled in a gale and the boat was very close to tipping over. Fortunately this happened during the day when a number of members were on site and the owner was contacted and was able to get there quickly. Lines were rigged to stabilise the boat and the sail brought under control. It was a very close call with one side of the boats cradle coming off the ground in the gusts. Had it gone over it would not only have suffered significant damage itself, but caused damage to other nearby boats.
If you are not worried about the possible damage that the weather could do to your own boat or sails, please remove your sails to protect everyone else’s property.
Help protect the UK’s border
A couple of us recently met with Border Force and other Home Office personnel who were reviewing Coastal Security. I have a new poster giving a new Crime Stoppers reporting number if you see anything suspicious on the coast. I will publish it on the front page of the website. Please use the Crime Stoppers number in the first instance, unless it is an emergency when you should use 999.
I do have a direct contact number for Border Force Intelligence if you have any difficulties reporting to Crime stoppers. Please let me know.
Planning to go abroad in your boat in the New Year?
I will shortly be publishing another poster from Border Force with a link to the reporting details that you will need to follow when leaving and arriving back to the UK. I will also add more details from personal experience gained when 3 of us went over to Gravelines in September. Our first trip since Brexit and COVID. At a later date I hope to add some maps where the Ports Aux Frontiers (PAF) can be found in Dunkirk and Calais. As it stands at the moment, you will need to visit them to get your Passport stamped in and out. Both ports have undergone extensive changes and reconstruction to deal with the new border controls. We had great difficulty finding the PAF as everyone we spoke to were unaware of their location or the necessity for us to get stamped in and out of Europe. When Google update their maps I will mark the locations on a map and add it to the post.
Medway Islands talk – 17th March
Thank you to everyone that responded to my post about the proposed talk. We can now confirm the date as 17th March at 8pm. Due to the high level of interest from members we have booked the village hall for the evening.
Membership Renewal
We are approaching the time of year again when we all need to renew our membership. As you will be aware, we have made some changes as to how items stored in the yard are charged for. Everyone will pay £70 per year membership, regardless of existing Full or Country membership. All dinghies, tenders and kayaks will be charged for depending on how stored. Unused trailers will also be charged. The majority of members with a dinghy in the rack will pay the same as previous years. Dinghies on trolleys or trailers will pay slightly more.
Peel Ports have once again applied a higher than inflation price rise to our moorings and conservancy charge. The MSBA are challenging them on the unreasonable price rise.
We will aim to send out the membership renewal information between Christmas and New Year. Payment is due by the end of January. If you are having difficulties please get in touch so we can discuss it.
