A few weeks ago a flotilla of visiting French yachts appeared at Strand Quay and next month the whole waterfront from the Quay round Rock Channel to Monkbretton Bridge will come alive with the Festival of the Sea. And these events set me thinking:
Why don't we make more - much more - of one of Rye's great assets, its historic Quay.
I am told (it was before my time as a resident of the town) that there was a time when, during the summer, Strand Quay would be full of yachts and the visitors that came with them. But not any more. This was, of course, before the advent of marinas in almost every coastal port and, in particular the proximity of Sovereign Harbour in Eastbourne - accessible at all stages of the tide and with its shops, bars, restaurant and chandlers, to say nothing of the immaculate boat owners facility of showers, toilets, changing rooms and even a laundry, proved an inevitable draw
A marina, a little way down river from the town and accessed off Rye Harbour Road, was once proposed but, for various reasons, the project never materialised, and perhaps a good thing as this would have denuded Strand Quay of even the little life that it currently has.
So what is it that has driven visiting yachts away? Mainly, of course, it is lack of that one thing that any boat needs most - water. The Quay is safely accessible to most boats for about a couple of hours either side of high tide although small shallow draft boats may have a little more leeway than that. Also it dries out and many boat owners (through lack of knowledge and experience of this, more than anything else) are concerned about letting their craft sit on their keels in the mud.
Against this, however, what do we have to offer? And the answer is the same thing that brings around a million land-based visitors to the area every year: our wonderful old town with its scenic streets, ancient buildings and church, pubs (many with free evening entertainment) and a plethora of restaurants to suit every taste and pocket. There are even a few interesting shops left.
Even allowing for problems of access, places such as Sovereign Harbour don't even begin to compare as a place to visit. Several hundred acres of concrete, a thousand other yachts - most of which probably see their owners only rarely - a Harvester chain restaurant, bars selling overpriced keg beer (probably) and the whole thing surrounded by a housing estate occupied largely by second home owners.
All we have to do is to provide some basic, but hygienic and well maintained facilities followed by a lot of P.R. in both this country and in the coastal towns across the Channel and people - with their boats - will come. If we can find a way of keeping a permanent minimum water level at the Quay (and it is possible), we could attract visitors in their droves. The town would benefit hugely from their spending power and, as an added bonus, their presence might help to encourage a suitable redevelopment of the Western side of the Quay and save us from the out-of-scale blocks of flats that have been proposed (and thankfully turned down) to date.
Strand Quay is our most ignored asset - the Town Council is probably the body that could lead the way on this - all it needs is the will to do it.
Photos: John MInter and library image
