News from your cruising area
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SOUTH COAST & CHANNEL ISLANDS
A children’s sailing centre at Littlehampton has launched a crowdfunding campaign to help keep them afloat.
Members of Arun Youth Aqua Centre are seeking to raise the last £5,000 needed to replace their crumbling 40-year-old tractor, which tows the one-tonne safety powerboats from the AYAC Jubilee Compound to the waterline and back up the beach each sailing session.
Chairman Jason Brockhurst, said: “We desperately need a safe and reliable tractor to enable us to keep our young sailors safe and deliver the sessions we dearly want to.”
Following near-fatal incident in Plymouth and a boat hitting the breakwater in Cowes, Cowes Harbour Commission is reminding powered watercraft users to wear a kill cord.
A graphic video highlighting the dangers of not wearing one has been shared in the local notice to mariners No. 21 of 2024 with permission from the Harbour Master of Cattewater: youtu.be/PLutGBF2B9w
The kill cord serves only one purpose: to stop the engine when the driver moves away from the controls. Boaters are advised to test and maintain this kit regularly; attach the cord securely to the driver ideally before the engine is started, certainly before the boat is put in gear; and to stop the engine before transferring the kill cord to another driver.
SOUTH
More than 450 shares have been sold to the public in a bid to revive Hengistbury Head Outdoors Centre.
During its heyday in 2019, 15,000 people used the centre on the shores of Christchurch Harbour, but following the Covid-19 pandemic lockdown the council-owned building fell into disrepair and Brockenhurst College ceased operations there. However, local users –including the Sea Scouts, Pink Champagne Dragonboat and Hengistbury Head Sailing Club– continued on-site by storing equipment in a shipping container. Now, in what would be the club’s 60th year, the Hengistbury Head Outdoors (HHO) community group has launched £4 million plans to rejuvenate the centre and has applied to Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole Council for a community asset transfer.
In addition to fundraising, HHO has launched £10 member shares, and now has more than 450 members eligible to vote in the AGM.
Vigilance, the Brixham-based heritage sailing trawler, is looking for a new trustee chairperson following the death of Colin Mawbey, the f
