Its been a busy couple of weeks with shipping into the port of Rye. Eight ships, carrying a total of nearly 19,000 tons of aggregate in various shapes and sizes, has come and gone. The largest of these vessels was the Robijn, which arrived from Belfast carrying gravel. She is 90m long and provided great spectacle as she departed the harbour on Sunday.
At the Strand, Mackley construction are making headway with what is a considerable job as you can see in the photo taken by Stu Cooper from www.clearairflying.com using his drone.
Recently they have installed foundations for a ramp that will connect floating pontoons to the shore. The aluminum ramp is being delivered to site this week. The project is due for completion at the end of June.
At the other end of the quay, the works on the slipway continue. Concrete works are 60% complete and the jetty is next in line for work. The timber piles already in place are used to support a walkway. This will allow boats to use the slipway again for cleaning and general inspections of hulls, plus undertaking boat maintenance.
It is really good news that so much is being invested in the Strand. I very much hope this encourages many yachtsmen and women from all over Europe back to Rye with much improved facilities for them.
James, the harbour master, is an unsung hero of Rye who quietly gets on with all things to do with commercial shipping and many of the leisure craft that visit our shores. I work with him as port controller when the big ships come in, alongside the crew who go out in all weathers at all times of the day and night to safely see vessels in.
Image Credits: Stuart Cooper https://www.clearairflying.com/ .
The improvements to Strand Quay will undoubtedly provide better facilities for visitors to Rye and for residents alike.
The only blight on the landscape is the skeleton of a building on the opposite bank, which is a huge eyesore. When will this be removed or redeveloped? Until this problem is dealt with it will overshadow all the works currently in progress.
I wonder if anyone from town hall has contacted martello developments, who advertise they are investing in the future of the Town, and perphaps we could be updated how much longer, they will leave this derelict eyesore,for visitors and locals too see as they enter our town,from Hastings.