Herne Bay Sailing Club

Herne Bay Sailing Club prides itself on being a club “run by members for members”, and this is never more evident than during the yearly task of laying the club’s slipway.

View more pictures here in the photo gallery taken on the day.

HBSC’s slipway, at 150 feet long, is what gives the club an almost unique ability to launch and recover at almost all states of the tide, but its steel and timber construction means that it has to be lifted every winter, both to prevent damage and to enable essential maintenance to be carried out on the timber sections over the winter months.

The end of March each year sees an incredible burst of activity as the members, young and old, arrive on the appointed day to lay the slipway ready for the new sailing season. The timing of the slipway laying (and lifting) is critical as the tides have to be just right, and the work has to be completed between tides requiring a huge amount of effort to lay and secure the 180 timber sections, each weighing over 50 kilos!

The reverse of the process happens each Autumn when the sections are lifted, cleaned and stored, having first been checked over so that any repairs can be carried out before the next season.

This process has been going on since the current slipway was laid down in 1960’s, and 50 plus members gathered this year to carry out the work on the 28th March, which turned out to be the coldest (and windiest) day for some time! It sounds like hard work (and it is!) but, spurred on by the prospect of sailing from next weekend, the work was completed in just over 3.5 hours – a club record!

In keeping with tradition, the hungry workers and helpers then returned to the clubhouse in the evening for the annual Slipway Laying Supper to officially launch the 2009 sailing season.

This article is also to appear in Town Talk - so keep your eyes open for your copy!