This cautionary tale was recently reported by The Local, a Swedish English-language newspaper, and repeated on some boating sites. A possible warning to sailing couples!

 A drunken Swedish sailor sparked a major sea-rescue alert when he sounded the alarm as he sailed near Kalmar, off the southern coast of Sweden, believing that his wife had fallen overboard and drowned.  When rescuers arrived, they found him drifting with a broken tiller, and no sign of his wife.

After a brief search, they discovered that the woman was never on the boat during the trip and was safe on shore throughout the whole ordeal.

The man was towed back to the dock, where he failed a breathalyzer test, and was promptly charged with boating while intoxicated.

Couldn't happen at the RCPYC, could it!?

It was disclosed recently that Dover Harbour Board is to submit further details to the government over its plans to sell the town's port.  The move comes after the Department of Transport last month laid out new rules for the sale of major ports.

The new criteria states the sales should deliver a "significant level of community participation".
A local group - the Dover People's Port Trust (DPPT) - wants the port to be run by a community trust to plough profits back into the community.  Residents in the town have already voted in favour of a People's Port, which has the backing of Conservative MP Charlie Elphicke.

In a statement, Dover Harbour Board said the new proposal was "wholly consistent" with the criteria set out by Mr Hammond.  He said he was aware the board proposed to submit a new set of documents for consideration under the new criteria.

By way of background, the Port of Dover has been run as a trust since 1606 but now the harbour board wants to privatise it.  The government's new criteria apply to sales of major ports in England and Wales, including Milford Haven in south Wales, Shoreham port in West Sussex, Poole in Dorset and Harwich Haven in Essex.

On Sunday 31st October 2010, the 'People's Port' Bid for the Port of Dover was launched by Dover and Deal MP, Charlie Elphicke. Dame Vera Lynn is a supporter of the bid, and joined the MP, the Mayor of Dover and others for the launch at the Sea Sports Centre on Dover harbour. After the speeches Dame Vera and her daughter repaired to the Royal Cinque Ports Yacht Club, along with many others from the launch party, for tea and sandwiches. The Commodore, Professor Irving Benjamin. announced that Dame Vera had been elected an Honorary Member of the club, and presented her with an engraved glass. a miniature of the Club's Speyside Malt whisky and a copy of the RCPYC anthology of poetry and prose 'Almost On Dover Beach'.

click here for video of the occasion

On March 7th 2008, we were fortunate to have Hilary Lister as our visiting speaker.

Despite her youth, Hilary is already one of Britain’s sailing legends, as the first quadriplegic person to sail solo across the Channel and round the Isle of Wight. In a beautifully illustrated talk she described how she overcame her disability to achieve this feat, and outlined her even more ambitious plan to circumnavigate Britain later this year. Richard Gaskell also described how Hilary came to realise “The Dream” partly through the work of Sailing Opportunities, a Kent-based charity of which he is chairman. The packed audience in the LW Bar were equally impressed by Hilary’s achievements and charmed by her personality, and made a generous contribution to the work of the Trust.

The Commodore, Keith Gallagher, presented her with a Club Pennant, which she will wear on her trip, and we were pleased that she has accepted Honorary Membership of RCPYC.

We look forward to giving her a good send-off in June.