Planning is at an early stage but many organisations in Whitstable and the South-East are already developing ideas as to how they can best celebrate the town’s connections with the sea: past, present and future. The day will be packed with a full programme of activities for all ages, both on and off the water. Events will be held on both beaches and in the Harbour from 10.30am to 4.30pm, concluding with an evening concert on the South Quay.
How can you help create a successful Show?
Volunteer as a Steward and help welcome over 10,000 visitors. Alert the planning team to any group in the community who may have difficulty in accessing the Show for physical, mental or social reasons. Share news of the Show with colleagues and friends. Watch the local Press and Whitstable Maritime website for updates.
BIG thanks to everyone who joined us on Tues 24 Sept at Long Beach in support of Great British Beach Clean Week 2024. Your support, along with 1000s of other people across the UK, helps keep our beaches clean and safe. AND … you helped collect important data, which the Marine Conservation Society will use to lobby Governments for legislative change, influence industry practices and drive campaigns. Over 800 pieces of rubbish collected!
Whitstable Maritime has been awarded a ‘Pride in Place’ Grant in support of the Gamecock’s restoration.
Canterbury City Council (CCC) is the local lead authority for the UK Shared Prosperity Fund which is a central pillar of the UK government’s Levelling Up agenda and provides £2.6 billion of funding for local investment by March 2025. The Fund aims to improve pride in place and increase life changes across the UK investing in communities and places, supporting local business, and people and skills. For more information, visit https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/uk-shared-prosperity-fund-prospectus
Whilst the fundamental restoration work has been completed, funding is now required for the next stage of Gamecock’s restoration journey:
restoring deck-beams and replacing the hull planking;
production and strength testing of trunnels (tree nails);
developing the Maritime Curriculum including a training programme tailored to the Oyster Yawl;
developing educational activities focused on the coast, eg marine conservation, local ecology, oysters and mans impact on the environment.
At the recent Whitstable Boatyard Reception, the Charity was pleased to present Peter Kalopsidiotis with a gift in recognition of his contribution as a Volunteer to the restoration of the Gamecock. The Charity has also proposed to National Historic Ships that Peter should receive the National Volunteer of the Year Award. The citation read as follows. Peter joined Whitstable Maritime’s restoration team in 2019 when the Gamecock was lying on a mud berth in Faversham Creek where she stayed throughout the pandemic. It quickly became apparent that he was keen to learn new skills and was soon leading the small group that kept her dry and protected the craft when the wind and high tides threatened to drive her ashore.
In 2020 the Charity persuaded Whitstable Harbour Board to allow the Gamecock’s restoration to continue on the East Quay of the harbour. Peter organised a successful tow (photo) from the top of Faversham Creek which involved judging the tides in Faversham and Whitstable.
Once installed on the Quay, under the direction of our new Shipwright, Peter’s team of Volunteers set about removing the rotten timbers and fittings (photo). He forged a good relationship with the Shipwright and it has become an effective partnership with Peter helping to establish a small boatyard and workshop extending to neighbouring premises provided by Brett Aggregates (photo). Peter’s ‘hands-on’ approach involves him being at the site several times a week.
Peter has joined the Board of Whistable Maritime as the Vice-Chair responsible for the restoration project and actively participates in the purchase of materials with the Shipwright, including visits to the local sawmills who now source our oak, larch and pine. Currently they are stress-testing trunnels and researching sails and rigging.
Clearly, many have contributed to the restoration and continue to do so, but Peter has become a key Volunteer in the process and hopefully will become a member of the crew when Gamecock returns to the water in 2025.
Peter Kalopsidiotis working on the Gamecock shortly after she had been craned on to the East Quay of the Harbour.
Cookie permissions
This site uses only functional cookies – small text files that are placed on your machine that enable this website to function properly.
In general, these cookies are used to retain user preferences, store information for things like shopping carts, and prevent spam. This site does not use cookies for tracking data.
Functional
Always active
The technical storage or access is strictly necessary for the legitimate purpose of enabling the use of a specific service explicitly requested by the subscriber or user, or for the sole purpose of carrying out the transmission of a communication over an electronic communications network.
Preferences
The technical storage or access is necessary for the legitimate purpose of storing preferences that are not requested by the subscriber or user.
Statistics
The technical storage or access that is used exclusively for statistical purposes.The technical storage or access that is used exclusively for anonymous statistical purposes. Without a subpoena, voluntary compliance on the part of your Internet Service Provider, or additional records from a third party, information stored or retrieved for this purpose alone cannot usually be used to identify you.
Marketing
The technical storage or access is required to create user profiles to send advertising, or to track the user on a website or across several websites for similar marketing purposes.
