The first day of June marked the start of meteorological summer, and with the current fine weather we are enjoying, this is when we can truly appreciate just what a fantastic place the Isle of Wight is - to live, work and play - and of course visit.
On this coming Wednesday, 18th June we are holding our Annual Public Meeting, where I will be giving a full update on progress so far with the Cowes Breakwater Project, and what to expect next, so do please come along if you can.
There are just a few days to go until the 2014 Round the Island Race and our CHC team are working hard to ensure that all visitors to Cowes Harbour, whether competitors or spectators, can experience a Race to remember. I would like to bring your attention to our latest Notice to Mariners regarding Central Solent traffic restrictions on Saturday, 21st June, and wish all those taking part, great racing.
Best regards,
Captain Stuart McIntosh
Cowes Harbour Master
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Next month, we have a lot to look forward to on the events front in Cowes Harbour. The first weekend of July sees the Island Sailing Club's 125th Anniversary Regatta and the Etchells Southern Area Championship, followed by Sail the Wight and the Panerai British Classic Week.
International teams battle it out in the Brewin Dolphin Commodores' Cup, the Dragon Class hold their South Coast Championships and Corinthian racing at its best can be seen in the Charles Stanley Cowes Classics Week; CHC are event partners for Cowes Classics Week. Towards the end of July are the National Swallow Class Championship and the popular Cowes Dinghy Week.
From 26th to 31st July, Cowes also welcomes the inaugural International Etchells Invitational Cup, which is being supported by CHC with subsidised moorings at Shepards Wharf Marina. During the Etchells event, we are hoping to arrange for the official opening of Shepards' new high-tech dry sailing crane with kind assistance from Cowes Etchells Captain David Franks and competitors taking part in the Etchells Invitational Cup. More on this in our July newsletter.
Read more on the CHC website
See our Cowes Harbour events calendar for further information
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The next event in Shepards Wharf Marina's RYA Active Marina Programme is "First Aid at Sea" on Saturday, 28th June 2014 and is open to all Shepards and Cowes Harbour Moorings customers.
This RYA First Aid one-day course covers all the usual first aid subjects, but from a boating perspective and will help you gain a better understanding of emergency medical procedures for use on a sea going vessel.
The subjects specific to boating include: the recovery position in a confined space, CPR - including the drowning protocol, cold shock and hypothermia from immersion and/or exposure, seasickness and dehydration, medical assistance or advice by VHF and helicopter rescue. There are different ways of communicating with rescue services from afloat, should this be required, and procedures for when they arrive; the First Aid at Sea course covers it all.
If you need any further information or wish to book, please call Marina & Moorings Manager Jock Rafferty at Shepards Wharf on 01983 297821 or send an email to Shepards.
Read more on the CHC website
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We would like to encourage all our readers to share this newsletter with family and friends via the "Forward email" link at the foot of this email.
Alternatively, click here to subscribe to Cowes Harbour news.
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Cowes Harbour Commission is always glad to receive feedback on its services and on the issues it is tackling on behalf of all harbour users and stakeholders.
If you would like to talk to the Harbour Master, Capt. Stuart McIntosh or to Rod Hodgson, Deputy Harbour Master, please feel free to call into the Harbour Office on Town Quay, phone and make an appointment on 01983 293952, or email us.
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Cowes Harbour Commission also owns and operates the following commercial services:
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CHC Annual Public Meeting - 18th June
Cowes Harbour Commissioners look forward to seeing you at the 2014 Annual Public Meeting this week.
The Meeting will be held at the Island Sailing Club in Cowes on Wednesday, 18th June, from 1900.
A presentation of the Annual Report will include a full update on the Cowes Breakwater Project, followed by an opportunity for questions and discussion.
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Trinity Landing repairs completed
A key project to re-design the joints of the Trinity Landing pontoons to overcome long-standing problems has been successfully completed and the facility reinstated in time for the main summer season in Cowes.
This project was undertaken at CHC's Kingston Wharf site in East Cowes where appropriate facilities could be provided for the local contractors carrying out the specialist work of modifying the connecting joints, as well as for the general maintenance and painting that was fitted in alongside the fabrication. The Kingston Marine Services (KMS) team has worked closely with their Boatyard team over the last six months on the challenging task of removing and storing the Trinity Landing pontoons in the boatyard site and assisting the sub-contractors with the repair and refurbishment works.
Docking Solutions, who designed and built the pontoons as a contractor to Mackley Construction, sub-contracted the modification of the steel floats and fabrication of the new joint connection holders to a Cowes-based steel fabrication company, DMR Engineering.
Barney Sollars, Marine Services Manager at KMS said: "DMR have performed exceptionally in terms of running to programme, noise, dust and nuisance amelioration and tolerating working alongside the sand blasting and painting that had to be phased into the overall schedule to allow us to make the target of the Round the Island Race."
Cowes Harbour Master, Capt. Stuart McIntosh said: "My Commissioners and I apologise for any inconvenience to harbour users that has resulted from the delay in reinstalling Trinity Landing, but trust we have now achieved a long-term solution for the pontoon joints, which will enable this important harbour resource to continue to provide a valuable landing and eventing facility for the harbour for many years to come."
CHC managed the reinstallation of the pontoons, and will complete the decking, and connection of a water supply and electricity points to the pontoons. Therefore, Trinity Landing will be back in service and available for public use in time for the Round the Island Race; check the CHC website, Facebook and Twitter for the most up-to-date information.
Read the full story at cowesharbourcommission.co.uk
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Countdown to Round the Island Race
At the time of writing, there are four days, 17 hours and 16 minutes to go until the start of the 2014 J.P. Morgan Asset Management Round the Island Race on Saturday, 21st June - and it's still not too late to enter with final entries for this year's Race closing at noon on Wednesday, 18th June.
Over 1,570 boats are entered so far, and around 16,000 sailors are getting set to enjoy this world famous race around our Island. Could Sir Ben Ainslie be the first yachtsman to hold both the multi and monohull RTI course records with the recent news that he'll be racing onboard the current monohull Race record holder ICAP Leopard? The answer to this question and results for all the 35 competing classes will be published on the event website, where ahead of Race day you can find out everything you need to know whether you are a competitor or a spectator. If you are planning on berthing at CHC's Shepards Wharf Marina over the Race weekend, please check on the CHC website for the latest information. This is the UK of course, so we can't guarantee the weather; however, current predictions are for warm, cloudy weather with sunny intervals but fairly light winds. Whatever the weather, we hope that all those taking part, as well as those following the Race from ashore will have a safe, exciting and memorable day. Good luck to everyone!
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Up-to-the-minute info on Cowes Harbour
Cowes Harbour Commission continues to work hard to open up new communications channels with our stakeholders and to strengthen those already in place. With this in mind, CHC aims to raise the profile of the harbour through expanded use of social media sites, especially Facebook and Twitter, to take account of the increasing demand for immediacy in delivering news and information.
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