READY FOR THE SEASON
It was a week to remember ......... On 23rd March, friends and family of the late Lord Gregson, met to officially open the new Jetty in his name. As head of the Veolia Trust, Lord Gregson was a keen sailor in his lifetime as well as being a prominent and passionate supporter of British Industry. We would like to extend our thanks to everyone involved in making this such a memorable and significant day.
It was a week to remember ......... On 23rd March, friends and family of the late Lord Gregson, met to officially open the new Jetty in his name. As head of the Veolia Trust, Lord Gregson was a keen sailor in his lifetime as well as being a prominent and passionate supporter of British Industry. We would like to extend our thanks to everyone involved in making this such a memorable and significant day.
Then, on 25th March, TS Resolute was officially commissioned. The guest list comprised of local heads of industry, organisations, supporters and contractors - many of whom have helped us with the whole 'new ship project'. The boat was commissioned by Captain John Clink - OBE and former Captain of HMS Ark Royal. Finally, on 26th March, with over 250 friends and volunteers in attendance, the 'Great Commissioning' of TS Resolute was the last and biggest of a series of opening events during the week.
As part of this process, the operational handover of Resolute was completed when Project Manager David Edwards and Executive Director Norman Doney handed over the keys to Centre manager Jon Bennetts in time for the first school group of the season - 45 children from Surrey who gave Resolute a good workout for her first event.
It has been a tremendous team effort over the past few weeks, months and years to get to this point and we thank God and everyone involved in this amazing project.
Jon Bennetts
CELEBRATING A LIFE CHANGING 25 YEARS
We continued our exhilarating journey through 2010, with a terrific season, an excellent 25 year anniversary event and major progress toward the completion of the New Ship project.
As we look forward to the arrival of the new ship we see many opportunities for more visitors and different events across a longer season. If you would be interested in a special interest weekend, or bringing a group at any time of the year please contact us. Bookings and deposits are already coming in so hurry to reserve places for next year.
As well as the New Ship Launch we have launched www.friendsofcye.co.uk which we really encourage you to visit and complete. In the New Year our new website and brochure will be launched, so look out for news.
On Saturday 2 October around 200 people visited the ship, attended a 25th anniversary thanksgiving service or joined us for The Gerald Daniel decommissioning and a meal.
The service, led by Ian and Cindy Crossley,
included staff who have been involved with the centre from the beginning to the
present day. Together with an exhibition of photographs and a time line wall
chart that evoked many memories for all the visitors. The decommissioning, with comments
and prayers led by
Norman Doney
Executive Director
GERALD DANIEL STARTS ITS FINAL JOURNEY
On 7th October, after months of planning and liaison with 15 agencies or interested parties, the Gerald Daniel was pulled from its berth of 39 years according to plan and on time! A flotilla of CYESC boats nudged and pushed her until a local tug could pull her through a gap we had made in the mud and out into the channel. There was great relief and cheers from the crowd of spectators who were watching. She had to wait on anchor in the harbour for two weeks before availability of a tug and a suitable weather window coincided. She was eventually towed to the River Thames on 21st October. www.cye.org.uk/blog has the video and some pictures of the historic events.
We have enjoyed a very busy autumn/winter in preparation for the New Ship.
October
- 25th Anniversary and Decommissioning
event.
- Removal of The Gerald Daniel and transfer to
River Thames.
- Preparation of mud berth to receive “TS Resolute”.
- Sponsored staff cycle trip from Marble Arch to
the Angel of the North.
- Delivery of TS Resolute to CYESC berth at Chidham.
- Major repair of Jetty from shore to seawall -
with financial help from a Veolia Trust grant.
- Last items of fitting out, connection and testing
of services by Trimline Ltd.
- Installation of new mooring system.
- Preparing ship for service (tables and chairs,
media and galley equipment and so on)
- Drilling four 100m boreholes in our field for the ground source heat system.
January
- Extensive Groundworks continue
- New Hard Standing area for RIB’s completed
- Jetty enters final stages of completion
COME ON BOARD – HELP US TO FINISH OFF THIS AMAZING PROJECT
We are only £150,000 short of the total of £1.15m needed to pay for the New Ship – you can help by:
- Making a lump sum gift or pledge.
- Joining our £25 a month scheme along with 50
others at: www.cye.org.uk/donate.
- Purchasing an item on our shopping list – www.cye.org.uk/fundraising.
Look for “shopping list”.
- Organizing your own sponsored event or cake sale
– contact us for assistance.
- If appropriate remember CYESC in your will –
contact us for details.
- If you can help out in any way large or small, any amount will be appreciated.
STAFF NEWS
The new staff team is settling in well…
Pete Turner who left Westland Helicopters
having decided that he wanted a change from air to sea!
Pete Watts who has just completed studying
at
Hannah Morley from
Amy Beal who has just finished A levels.
Kevin Nash, a senior instructor from
Fellowship Afloat, who will be taking an increasing role in IT and maintenance.
Ben Ritchie is staying with us until
Christmas to assist with the transition to the New Ship.
Goodbye to Will Skinner and Hannah Lithgow our
excellent staff last year
We are sad to announce the recent death of
Ron Tomlin who was Bosun here from 1992 to 1997. Ron was instrumental in the Jetty
repair and Gerald Daniel re-decking and the
SUMMER NEWS
We had an excellent set of camps again in
2010 for 8-12’s, 12-15’s and 15-18’s plus a family weekend. Here is a report on just one of them:
James Harrison writes…“Before coming to Bravo 2010 for 12-15 year olds I wasn’t sure what to expect, as I had never been a leader on a camp of this type before. But from first arriving I felt part of a close team that had a heart for teaching Gods word to all of the members on the camp, in a way in which suited all of the members individually. I really enjoyed the range of activities and structure of the day, with a wide choice and range of water and land based activities as well as team activities.
Personally I was challenged
both by some of the questions some of the members of my small group came out
with and to hear their interpretations of different talks and bible passages,
as well as hearing other groups feedback and scripture during the morning team
meeting.
I would definitely come back to help at Bravo again, and be part of a great summer camp!”
NEW WEBSITE & MARKETING
As well as the excitement of the imminent
arrival of ‘Resolute’, we have some more positive news to share on the
Marketing / Communications front:
We have recently installed a great new database for CYESC which will make communication much easier using various different means (post, email, Facebook etc). As part of this process, we are compiling and updating our contact information.
Consequently, we would be very grateful if you could visit www.friendsofcye.co.uk and fill in the online form.
The data that you input will then automatically upload onto our new database. Whilst there will of course still be the option of receiving information by post, many people have indicated a preference for being updated electronically about news, events and what’s happening at CYESC.
We also have a brand new brochure and calendar of events coming your way soon.
