Submitted by Lizziecrab on Sat, 08/02/2025 - 16:13

HPO RAMSGATE
As many of you will be aware, my predecessor - Rodney Pell - died suddenly and unexpectedly late last year shortly after I had taken over from him as HPO for Ramsgate. Rodney, his wealth of local knowledge, and his classic motor yacht – ‘Shemaun’ - will be greatly missed in the Thames Estuary and across the channel.

The royal harbour of Ramsgate – given that honoured title by king George iv in the 1820’s – is much quieter now than in past times, at least from a purely commercial point of view. The ferries no longer sail from here to the continent, the cattle ships no longer transport animals to France and the once busy import of VW motor cars ceased some years ago. However, all is not doom and gloom!! The several wind farms offshore in the estuary and southern North Sea are serviced from Ramsgate by the large catamarans based in the harbour and the pilot service also operates from Ramsgate out to shipping anchored in Margate roads or on passage into or out of the Thames and beyond. A small fishing fleet soldiers on and, all these things, together with the flourishing leisure vessels based here or coming as visitors, makes the harbour a busy place indeed. Entrance to and exit from is closely controlled by the harbour authority and it is strictly necessary to call ‘Ramsgate port control’ on vhf channel 14 and await permission to enter, this being controlled by the usual red, green and white light sequences. Once inside, Ramsgate marina should be raised on vhf channel 80 for allocation of a berth.

There are numerous restaurants and eateries in the town and with, of course, the long established ‘Royal Temple Yacht Club’ situated above and overlooking the harbour in Westcliffe mansions. A number of LSC members are also members of the RTYC and you can be assured of a warm welcome and a well stocked clubroom bar!

That’s about it from me for now and i wish you all fair winds and calm seas. I look forward to seeing many of you at Ramsgate, having ventured into ‘bandit country’ east of Selsey bill!!! My contact details are in the magazine and available through the club office should I be able to assist you in any way that I can.
Richard Keen - HPO Ramsgate
www.visitramsgate.co.uk December 2024