Cruising

If you are less confident you can join in regular weekend cruises within the Medway Estuary. As you gain experience there are regular cruises in company throughout the year to places further afield.
If you are already an experienced cruiser and want to be self-sufficient the cruising grounds of the East Coast, France and Belgium are only a day’s sail away.
Likewise if you play the tides you can sail up the Thames to London in one day.
Cruiser class has so much to offer it’s members both on and off the water. There is always someone to help you should you have a problem with your yacht or any aspect of sailing.
This Year’s Cruises
Date
25th March
Description
Fitting Out Supper – Talk by Tim Bishop, The Joys of Oysters and How I Came Unstuck!
7th to 10th April
Easter weekend in Conyer. Arrive at Conyer HW Saturday 1500hrs, dinner in the club house. Sunday enjoy lunch in the club house. Monday depart at HW 1600hrs.
In 2022 a total of 12 boats with crews of all ages took part and had a great time in perfect weather. For a full report on the weekend click here.
29th, 30th April
Red Sands Fort. Deprat MYC 1000hrs, arrive Red Sands at LW 1400hrs, overnight at Queenborough.
13th, 14th May
Our first Queenborough weekend of 2023, dinner at Queen Phillippa hotel
26th May
Cruise to The Netherlands, 2 to 3 weeks using the mast up rute to Amsterdam
10th, 11th June
Queenborough again.

8th, 9th July
Queenborough weekend, dinner at Queen Phillippa hotel
10th July
South Coast Cruise to the Channel Islands
14th to 18th July
Heybridge Basin on the Black Water.
29th July
Montgomery Cruise

Over 20 boats took part in this year’s Montgomery Cruise. The majority stayed over in Queenborough, returning to their moorings on Sunday. Others used it as a start to cruising further afield.
12th, 13th August
9th, 10th September
(You may have guessed the Queenborough weekends are popular)
21st August
London – destination to be confirmed
11th November
Laying Up Supper – no sailing but lots of long tails and warm company.
For many sailors the defining moment that inspired them to pursue sailing as a sport or hobby was when after leaving the mooring under motor, setting up your sails, turning your yacht to pick up the wind, THEN, turning off the motor. There it is, the SILENCE, only broken by the sound of the wind in the sails as you adjust the helm for best course.
To find out more about Cruising at Medway Yacht Club contact the class captain.
Moorings
With over 200 deep water moorings available for cruisers of 20 feet to 42 we can cater for most of your needs.
A trot boat service runs to take you from the club pontoon to your boat. This service is on demand at weekends during the sailing season. At other times it runs by prior arrangement or a regular morning, lunchtime and evening run during the week.
For the more independent there is ample space to store a tender ashore and secure, fireproof storage for an outboard.


Moorings
With over 200 deep water moorings available for cruisers of 20 feet to 42 we can cater for most of your needs.
A trot boat service runs to take you from the club pontoon to your boat. This service is on demand at weekends during the sailing season. At other times it runs by prior arrangement or a regular morning, lunchtime and evening run during the week.
For the more independant there is ample space to store a tender ashore and secure, fireproof storage for an outboard.

Shoreside Facilities
Medway Yacht Club is the only club in the south east with its own state of the art Wise travel hoist.
This is capable of lifting boats up to 12 tonnes drawing less than 2m out of the water and moving them to the car park for winter maintenance.
Deep keel yachts that need a shore cradle are catered for as the class has a number of cradles available for hire.
If you want a mid-season scrub the travel hoist can be used and the yard staff will clean your boat for you.
A cheaper alternative is to use the club’s scrubbing trolley and pressure washer. Using this a 30 foot boat can be cleaned in less than 30 minutes.
The car park has a 2.5m security fence and is covered by extensive CCTV meaning that your boat in winter storage is a secure as it can be.
When you go away for your summer cruise you can be confident your car will still be there when you come back.
The Tuesday Group
The Tuesday Group was started by a small group of retired members who used to come down to the club on a Tuesday to carry out mooring maintenance during the winter. Since then the club has employed outside companies to carry out mooring maintenance. This meant the Tuesday Group became a reason for like minded people to get together. It has grown and is now one of the largest groups within the club with approaching 100 members.
The group still meets every Tuesday and goes for a sail in company during the summer. The destination is flexible and is weather dependent. In the winter boats are worked on together and everyone helps each other. In this way a problem with your winter maintenance is easily solved as someone will have been there and done that already.
If you are able to get away from work on a Tuesday and wish to try sailing, join the Tuesday Group. There is no need to own a boat or have any sailing experience as all are welcome.


The Tuesday Group
The Tuesday Group was started by a small group of retired members who used to come down to the club on a Tuesday to carry out mooring maintenance during the winter. Since then the club has employed outside companies to carry out mooring maintenance but the Tuesday Group has grown and is now one of the largest groups within the club with approaching 100 members.
The group still meets every Tuesday and goes for a sail in company, the destination is flexible and is weather dependent.
If you are recently retired and wish to try sailing join the Tuesday Group. There is no need to own a boat or have any sailing experience as all are welcome.

The Class Captain’s Story
The two chaps in the photo are Bob and John – the current cruiser class co-captains. This photo was taken on Bob’s boat during one of the Tuesday Group trips into the Thames Estuary.
John joined Medway Yacht Club in 2013 having already obtained an RYA Day Skipper certificate and had kept his boat in marinas. Although he had the qualification, he did not feel confident to skipper his own boat on a longer cruise. He found that the marinas did not offer the support he wanted to gain more experience. Upon joining MYC and the Cruiser Class, John found the members very welcoming and plenty of people with many sea miles only too willing to take him sailing either on their boat or on his own.
John is now an experienced skipper in his own right and became Cruiser Class captain at the end of 2019. As John says “The joy of sailing is that no two days are ever the same and you continue to learn new skills every time you go out.”