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Newsletter July 2017

11 Dinghies set sail Bank Holiday Saturday

What’s on

Saturday 22nd July Rye Festival of the Sea. Rye’s former raft race and maritime festival are coming back

Saturday 22nd July Ramsgate week begins. For more information contact Richard Hopper via email at richard@richardhopper.plus.com Saturday 22nd July RNLI Open Day. RHSC will be open alongside the

event to accommodate a bouncy slide and The Salvation Army brass Band. The bar will be open with a BBQ

For details of the sailing programme please click on the following link

http://www.rhsc.org.uk/events

Some important dates for your diaries this year

Saturday 12th Aug Pirate Fun Day with Taster Sail. Volunteer pirates needed to help on the day

Friday 1 Sept Auction of Donations booked to take place at the George in Rye

Saturday 18 Nov RHSC Annual Prize Giving and Dinner – booked at The Fish Café Rye

Commodore Caroline Wylson carolinewylson@btinternet.com T 01797 223112 Vice- Commodore Rear Commodore Cruisers & Membership Secretary Richard Hopper TD richard@richardhopper.plus.com

T 01797 222291 Rear Commodore Dinghies Simon Marsh simon@hi-flight.co.uk T 01233 758181 Rear Commodore House Glenda Wilson andrewandglenda@yahoo.co.uk T 01797 321395 Honorary Secretary David Townsley davidtownsley1@hotmail.co.uk T 01424 882066 Honorary Treasurer Richard Hopper richard@richardhopper.plus.com

T 01797 222291 Rescue Boat Coxswain & Newsletter Editor David Tomkinson dejltomkinson@btinternet.com T 01797 224363

Rye Harbour Sa i l ing Club, {RHSC} The Po int , Rye Harbour, East Sussex, TN31 7TU

www.rhsc.org.uk

Rigging the Club Wayfarer

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News Release

3 July 2017

MP OPENS NEW FACILITES AT RYE HARBOUR SAILING CLUB

Home Secretary The Rt Hon Amber Rudd MP for Hastings and Rye opened new facilities at Rye Harbour Sailing Club (RHSC) on July 1, following a major fund-raising effort and building programme at the club. By cutting the ribbon at the formal opening ceremony, Amber Rudd ushered in a new chapter so that the club can now focus on providing sailing to a more diverse section of the local and wider community.

When RHSC acquired funding for the project through a Sport England Inspired Facilities grant Amber Rudd endorsed the project saying: “I’m really pleased Sport England has invested in Rye Harbour Sailing Club. This region has a great maritime heritage and I hope these new facilities will encourage many more people to join the club and take to the water.” Club Commodore Caroline Wylson takes up the story: “The club then went all out to raise the rest of the funds needed for the new facilities. We had a bumper Auction of Donations in 2016 which raised over £3,300 and the rest was made up from tireless fund raising events and endless application-form filling!” As a result the club received funding from the following sources: Sport England £75,000 Rother District Council Community Grants £30,000 Icklesham Parish Council £1,000 Rye Town Council £2,500 The Rye Fund £1,000 Little Cheyne Court Wind Farm Fund £2,500 Private donation through Sussex Community Foundation £2,000 RHSC cash resources £35,500

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Caroline continues: “Our project was to build new changing rooms that would provide facilities for less abled people as well as up-to-date facilities to attract schools and other younger people to take part in sailing. RHSC Sailability, a charity, will be working with RHSC to get less abled people out on the water. Our aim is to become a sailing venue with facilities to provide accessible sailing for all.” Work began on January 3 and was completed on time on May 8. The old boat storage shed was demolished, foundations laid and a building of block construction erected. Cladding gave a great finish to the fabulous new changing rooms. Included in the build are facilities and access for less-abled people. Caroline concludes: “It was a delight to welcome Amber Rudd to open the new facilities – a very enjoyable occasion with some 60 people attending. After the formal reception the barbecue was fired up and a jazz band played into the late afternoon. “I am delighted and grateful for the hard work and the support that RHSC has received for this project from club members, members of the public, local businesses, the local media and all those organisations who have chosen to support us by way of funding. The club now has a viable and sustainable future ahead where we can increase local participation in the sport of sailing and get as many people as possible out on the water.” RYA (Royal Yachting Association) regional development officer Steve Mitchell says: “Sam Rowe [RYA sailing development officer] and I were pleased to be able to support the funding process and offer the club help to achieve this great outcome. The club has come a remarkable distance in a relatively short period of time and the result of the hard work is now very visible both in the new facility development and in the re-energised activity that now exists in the club. “RHSC is a great example of a club that has worked hard to make a step change in their club development to revitalise their presence as a family friendly local sailing club.” For more information about RHSC visit http://www.rhsc.org.uk/ Source: RYA

If you’d like to find out more about how to get out on the water and start your sailing adventure

visit http://www.rya.org.uk/go/startboating

Eastbourne 100 mile Race On Saturday 2nd September Sovereign Harbour Yacht Club are running a 100 mile race Eastbourne to Eastbourne using Traffic Separation Zone Buoys CS1, CS2, CS3 and various inshore buoys. Ten to twelve legs, no leg longer than 25 miles SI’s and NR’s should be available on SHYC’s web site

Ramsgate Week 23rd

– 28th

July There are currently 47 entries of which two are from our club namely Mallard and Roxanne. We may have third entry Limbo Girl if a handicap can be agreed. These boats may be looking for additional crew so if you would like to try your hand a cruiser racing for a day or two please contact the skippers or the Rear Commodore Cruisers.

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Page 4 Newsletter Title Rye Harbour Sailing Dinghy Race 25 June – Report By John Powell OBE High tides and high winds were the theme for Sunday’s dinghy race at Rye Harbour Sailing Club. As a result the Officer of the Day, Ted Goodsell, took the decision to hold the race in the river. Seven boats started and six finished. Racing on the river requires sailors to be continually alert to wind

shifts and speed variations. With a westerly wind, gusts force themselves between buildings and moored boats – one minute the competitor is hiking (leaning right off the boat to keep it upright and balanced), the next the wind stops potentially dumping the embarrassed sailor in the water. With high tides it is also tempting to cut outside the channel markers – a couple found this wasn’t a risk worth taking and ran aground losing valuable seconds (watched carefully by Neil Thomas in the safety boat). The strong winds meant that two laps, from Rye Harbour down to Rock Channel and back took about an hour with some boats overtaking powered vessels.

Scott Wilkinson, aged 15, took the laurels for the day in his Topper dinghy. Scott is a member of the UK Junior Dinghy Sailing Squad and won by a massive five minute margin. Eric Zon, sailing a Laser dinghy, came second, followed thirteen seconds later by John Powell also sailing a Laser. After the race with the winds dropping slightly some club members took themselves off to sea for a blast in Rye Bay before returning to the club house for a well-earned drink. In a similar manner to fisher folk, comments on how they could have done better ‘…if only I had…’ could be heard in between drinks.

Rye Harbour Sailing Club Taster Day and Dinghy Race 8/9 July – Report

By John Powell OBE Saturday 8 July saw another of Rye Harbour Sailing Club’s ‘taster’ sailing sessions where the public is offered the opportunity to have a go at sailing for free. On this occasion we had a number of returners who took the opportunity to have extended sessions on the water. The weather, which initially looked to be very calm, perked up with a stiff sea breeze that allowed boats to go up into Rye Bay in fairly benign but fast sailing conditions allowing the novice sailors to helm (steer) the boats. This year has seen a large number of people sign up for a sail; included in this group are young adults and children that the club monitor for RYA and Sport England statistics. To date ‘Project Kindersail’ has seen over forty under 25s sail at least once with the club this year. We are looking for future sponsorship to buy more up to date dinghies with which we hope to improve on that figure.

‘Flaming June’ the tide creeps in as three of

the seven dinghies wait to launch

Photo by Steve Eccles

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The following day, Sunday 9 July, disappointingly, did not see a return of the sea breeze. With temperatures approaching thirty degrees winds did not get much above 5 knots. Nevertheless the

dinghy section gave it a go – delayed though by the arrival of a large cargo vessel sailing down the River Rother. The club members were overseen by Officer of the Day Anna Knight assisted by Sue Saich. The start did not have the usual bustle and speed we have previously seen this year but the dinghies crossed together with slow motion jostling for position. After a few minutes what was to be the final order of finishing became apparent. Though slow winds are an irritation, sailors need to be able to cope with them in addition to high winds – this race was a test in getting the best out of the boat: its balance, trim, sail setting and appropriate course setting. John Powell crossed the line first with Steve Eccles coming second and Tom Ashmore third. The late start caused by the cargo vessel meant that it was a bit of race to get back to the club house before the tide was too low to get back in. Utilising the RNLI slipway (who were spotted rescuing a jet skier in the Bay) everyone got back in safely, if a touch muddy.

Perfect weather for Ladies Cup BY JOHN MINTER

With the arrival of summer weather at last, there can be few better places to be than on the sea, and this certainly proved to be the case last Saturday, June 10. Rye Harbour Sailing Club (RHSC) ran the first of two cruiser races for the Bramley Cup which also doubled as the race for the Ladies’ Cup. The rule for the latter is that each competing boat must be helmed by a lady. (Boats tend to be big boys’ toys which means that the ladies don’t always get the opportunities that many of them deserve!). With an almost-cloudless sky, a light southerly breeze of about 12 knots and a relatively (for Rye Bay) calm sea, conditions were perfect and it was almost surprising that only six boats started.

John Powell and Scott Wilkinson take out two young novice sailors during the club’s taster day. Photos by Sarah Nelson

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Page 6 Newsletter Title The start was just off the mouth of the Rother and all boats got away well with Mallard (helmed by Sara Milner) leading the way from Helena Ann (Glenda Wilson) and Foo Fighter (competing in the Bramley cup only, not the Ladies’ Cup). The rest of the fleet were in close proximity as they headed west towards the first mark – Rock Channel Marine Buoy, off Winchelsea

By now Mallard had extended her lead and conditions certainly favoured the lighter boats although the wind was just sufficient to drive the heavier wooden Helena Ann forward to keep well in touch as the fleet turned south towards the Fairway Buoy situated well out into the Bay. Mallard rounded first and set her spinnaker for the dead run down

towards Camber. She was the only one of the leading boats to set a spinnaker and it did not seem to do her a lot of good – distance between her and second placed Helena Ann remaining fairly constant – and indeed closing as Mallard wasted time taking her spinnaker in at the mark off Camber. (This was supposed to be the RHSC racing buoy but, having a mind of its own, it turned out to be well out of position so one of the water ski buoys, which happened to be in about the right place, was used instead). Then on to the final reach towards the finish line off the river mouth with all six boats finishing within nine minutes from first to last.

The final result on corrected time (taking into account each boat’s rating, or racing handicap, was: 1. Mallard 2. Helena Ann 3. Close Encounters 4. Foo Fighter 5.Limbo Girl 6. Lady Jane. Close Encounters and Foo Fighter, not having female helmsmen, were not eligible for the Ladies Cup and raced only for the Bramley Cup. Photos: John Minter

A good start

Close Encounters keeps up with the leaders

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Rye Festival of the Sea logo

Under Water Obstacles

Dinghy sailors are reminded of the underwater obstacles in the channel especially at high tide when these are hidden just below the surface for example as the ladder in the foreground.

Rye’s former raft race and maritime festival that have been lost to the town over the past few years are coming back under the new banner of Rye Festival of the Sea on July 22, 2017.

The Festival will start on the Saturday with the Raft Race at 11am High Water, followed by prize giving on the Strand at 12:30pm with music, stalls and fun events from 1pm into the early evening.

Photo by John Powell

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National Maritime Operations Centre Unit 12 Kites Croft Fareham PO14 4LW

External Partner Agency

Tel:

E-mail:

+44 (0) 2392 552100 Zone15@hmcg.gov.uk

3rd July 2017

Dear Sir or Madam CHANGE OF CONTACT INFORMATION FOR HM COASTGUARD I would like to take this opportunity to advise you of changes of contact details and callsign for HM Coastguard operations operating within the area of Selsey Bill to the Eastern end of Rye Bay. We have completed a review of our Maritime Zone allocation and are finalising changes to the routine Coastguard Operations Centre that you are assigned to, and deal with on a day to day basis. With effect from July 17th 2017 The Station and call sign you should now call is: “Solent Coastguard” The email address remains as: zone15@hmcg.gov.uk Telephone Numbers remain unchanged for Dover Coastguard and Solent Coastguard. Therefore if your records have 01304 210008 as your contact number then please update your Coastguard Contact Number to: 02392 552100. The Telephone Number for Dover Coastguard will still be answered however, this number is routed to the Coastguard Operations Room at Dover whom will not routinely be monitoring the geographical area you are operating/located in. The Annex shows the arrangement of operational zones that will be used to deliver Coastguard functions for:

• search and rescue; • vessel traffic monitoring; • pollution response; • maritime safety;

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• maritime security; and • support to other Category One responders for accident and disaster response. Yours sincerely

P.J. Norman – External Engagement Lead Annex

RHSC 100 Club Don’t miss out on a chance to join the Rye Harbour Sailing Club 100 Lottery. For the sum of £60 annually you are entitled to one number which will be entered into 12 monthly draws. Once a month you will have a chance to win a 1st Prize of £100, 2nd prize of £50 and 3rd Prize of £25 with a bumper draw of £250 at Christmas. The draw will be held at the sailing club. If you win we will credit your bank account and winners will be published in the monthly newsletter. For an application form, to show that you would like to join in the fun and register your interest, please contact Ros Culver by email at rhsc100club@yahoo.com Remember you have to be in it to win it

RHSC taking part in RFOS!

On Saturday 22 July from 11:00 to 18:00 RHSC will be manning a stand at the Strand Quay as part of the Rye Festival of the Sea Celebrations. Usually there are some half a dozen members gained by having a presence at the event which used to be called the Maritime Festival. We will need help on the stand. Simon Marsh will take the first slot in the morning from 11:00 to 13:00. Anna Knight and Caroline Wylson will be there from 16:00 to 18:00. Please let Simon know if you are free between 13:00 and 16:00 to lend a hand and support the club. There will be leaflets to hand out and membership forms and a Topper beside the stand.

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Page 12 Newsletter Title The club house will also be open from 10:00 to 14:30 to support The RNLI who are holding their Open Day. An inflatable bouncy castle will be erected in the boat park and The Salvation Army Band will play. RHSC will be open for tea/coffee/cake available to buy as well as the BBQ. The bar will be open. Do drop down and support the RNLI as well as the club. Caroline

Articles for the Newspaper This is your newspaper, If you have anything of interest such as achievements, anecdotes humorous sailing stories Items you are looking for or want to sell then email me at dejltomkinson@btinternet.com

David Tomkinson

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www.rhsc.org.uk