In a bid to support Marina’s across the country develop activity programmes for berth holders, the RYA has developed its new Active Marina programme.

The event based programme incorporates three aspects; training, cruising and social activities. 

The training element looks to support a programme of workshop style Training opportunities for berth holders to increase confidence and competence out on the water. 

The cruising aspect looks to develop activities such as cruises in company to expand people’s horizons and build confidence, whilst the social element seeks to assist with the formation and growth of Berth Holder groups.

RYA members can now take advantage of a great new offer on SeaFrance’s super June short breaks when travelling on their Dover to Calais route.

The offer, designed exclusively for RYA members, allows you to take your car and up to nine passengers, for up to five days and pay just £25 each way (travelling on Monday – Thursday crossings) or £35 each way (Friday - Sunday).

To take advantage of this great offer, RYA members must book their Super June Short break by 29/6/2011 and return by 30/06/2011. With a fleet of three superferries the crossing takes just 75 minutes and there are up to 15 daily return trips to choose from.

It may not quite live up to the adventurous exploits of Scott and Shackelton, but an intrepid group from the Hamble-based Royal Southern Yacht Club, led by Mike ‘Pike’ Jones, Peter Delbridge and Tim Robinson, sought out new Solent territories yesterday resulting in them naming a newly found island ‘Southern Land’ as well as declaring it a bona fide annexe to the Yacht Club’s Hamble Riverside home. 

Thanks to a rare natural occurrence, the Shingles bank forms the Western edge of the Needles Channel and has been synonymous with navigational blunders over the years. Yesterday three RIBs (rigid inflatable boats) set out from Hamble in search of new lands, thanks to the lowest tide of the year and an ever-changing shingle bank. Low tide revealed a truly impressive sight, rising out of the sea.

Race yacht crew retention website www.STRBRD.com has launched to offer a new solution to race yacht owners and skippers when organising and communicating with their crew.

Designed for owners with race teams of up to 30 crew, STRBRD.com has been developed to help skippers manage a lively hub to maximise crew interest in the lead-up to regattas and races, so that everyone is on board for the start of every race.

They can invite their crew to participate in upcoming regattas and races, keep them informed of race information, updates and results.

Following the Government’s decision in October 2010 that the canals and rivers currently managed by British Waterways (BW) will be transferred to a new third sector charitable organisation, the Government announced on Monday (28 February) that it has decided the Environment Agency’s navigable waterways should also transfer to the new charity.

The Government has confirmed that its proposal is to transfer the Environment Agency’s navigations to the new charity in 2015/16, subject to the agreement of the new charity’s Trustees and provided that it is affordable to do so. In 2014, the performance of the new charity will be reviewed and options considered for the transfer of the navigations.