Cowes Week Pontoon Arrangements

 With some yachts being lived aboard and others coming and going for racing it is particularly inconsiderate to leave yachts unattended if berthed outboard of others. At the very least, leave a mobile phone number prominently visible if going ashore.

With the demand for berthing spaces during Cowes Week at its annual peak, the Club's Cowes pontoon during this time is by common consent reserved for members doing The Week.  Yachts not being used during Cowes Week are expected to move off the pontoon to make room for members who are. There is no formal booking system – but experience shows that given good humour, courtesy, commonsense and seamanship difficulties are avoided and that at all but the busiest times all those members wishing to use the pontoon can be accommodated.

The harbour master permits rafting three-up on the outside (fairway) side of the pontoon and two-up on the inside.

Given the exceptional pressures and the fact that some yachts are lived aboard during the Week and others come and go for racing, it is particularly inconsiderate to leave yachts unattended for any period if berthed outboard of others. 

At the least, a mobile phone number for the key holder should be left where it may be seen and used by other members who might be inconvenienced, or for some other reason need to contact the yacht's key holder.  Yachts berthed outboard of others are to be attended between 0830 and 1100 each morning, unless specific arrangements have been made with all craft inboard.

Burgees and transom markings.

Any yacht using the Cowes pontoon at any time is required by the Club byelaws to fly the Club burgee from the masthead and to display the Club's badge and initials on the transom.  This is especially important during Cowes Week so that other members using the pontoon – and especially those not able to do so because of overcrowding – know that boats on the pontoon have every right to be there.

Members borrowing or chartering yachts for Cowes Week should obtain a burgee, if they do not already have one, in good time from the Secretariat (contact Jonathan Beeston on sailsec@royalthames.com or 020 7201 6262; Annabel Hunt on memsec@royalthames.com or 020 7201 6263). In addition, the Secretary at Royal London YC has a small supply available for sale to RTYC members. Yachts not equipped with masthead flag halyards can when on the pontoon fly the burgee in the approved manner from the masthead simply by sending it aloft on the main halyard, using a light messenger line as downhaul. The burgee is not to be dangled from the spreader or hitched to standing rigging as if it were some item of laundry.

Simple-to-apply transom markings, which can be applied either direct to the transom or to a suitable temporary display board temporarily affixed to the transom, can be obtained from Tribune Graphics, Unit 11, Phase 2, New Road Industrial Estate, ME12 1D telephone 01795 580457 or by email from sales@tribunegraphics.com

The Byelaw regarding the display of burgees and club initials applies as equally to RIBs, Dories and small launches as it does to larger craft. In the case of RIBs and Dories, where the transom is very low, the club initials and badge should be displayed wherever they can be best seen from the pontoon, even if the boat is left with a console cover. It is worth repeating that these rules exist not to place obstacles in the way of members using the pontoon, but rather to prevent, so far as is possible, non-members being able to park unnoticed or unchallenged on what is our private and not inexpensive facility.

RIBs, Dories and other small craft should be berthed only on the inside (western) side of the pontoon – not on the main fairway side where they will block the approach and access of larger yachts.

The north-western end of the pontoon (marked RTYC Committee Boat) is reserved during Cowes Week for the use of Flag Officers.  Both Dreamcatcher (Vice Commodore Haslehurst) and Heritage (Rear Commodores Kinchin and Dallimore) will be doing the Week.

AND FINALLY...

...  have a great Cowes Week.