Visit to Sovereign Harbour, Eastbourne 21 May 2023

The sun shone all day for our trip to Sovereign Harbour, Eastbourne. It is Northern Europe’s largest composite marina complex consisting of 5 separate harbours with access to and from the sea through twin locks.  It is surrounded by residential properties and a waterfront with restaurants, pubs and shops.  It provides over 800 berths mainly for pleasure yachts, some exceeding 70 feet in length.  There is also a small fishing fleet. Premier Marinas, as owner of the Marina, allowed us to park and display our Morgans in what is normally a restricted road close to the restaurants and only a few yards from the two main harbours. John & Maggie Skillicorn made all the arrangements for us so 17 Morgans were able to park in front of the 4 Seasons cafe where we had our refreshments. We then headed off in small groups on a tour of the harbour village and marina and eventually arrived at the RNLI Station. We were given a short talk about the lifeboat and after the usual health and safety warnings we walked along the pontoon to the Lifeboat. It is a Tamar class boat with very sophisticated navigation and search and rescue equipment. It was a privilege to be allowed onboard. I believe this was to thank John for raising enough money through his Rotary club to refit the lifeboat station kitchen. The Coxswain said that they had  been instructed to swap their vessel for the Ramsgate lifeboat as the Eastbourne boat had more space onboard for rescuing the channel boat people. The crew were sad to be losing their boat for the smaller and older Ramsgate vessel. Lunch was arranged for us in the Marina Thai restaurant where we enjoyed a 2 course set lunch with a drink at a very reasonable price. After lunch Alan Sharp proposed a round of applause to thank John and Maggie for organising such a successful event then we were free to explore more of the area before heading off home. A fabulous event superbly organised by John & Maggie Skillicorn – well done and thank you.

Photographs from Mike Wilson and Maggie Cornish