News
There is a lot happening in Dunbar Harbour, so we will keep you informed with our news articles and newsletter. Subscribe to our newsletter on the right of this article and come back to this news page often to read more. If you have news related to Dunbar Harbour then please send us a message using the form at the bottom and we will publish it here.
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Passing the Battery: a small skein, only 120 geese. Some geese are resident, mainly at Aberlady Bay, and honk their way over Dunbar to feed in the fields behind. Others migrate enormous distances. During the autumn- and early-winter mornings, geese move from these roost sites to stubble fields, where they will feed upon spilt grain. Late afternoon sees the return flight to their roost sites.
When in flight, geese are called a skein; when not in flight, a gaggle; and when flying in a V formation, they are referred to as a wedge.
photos by Kenny Maule
Click <READ MORE> for photo 2, passing the Battery
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Pix in the Stix had a full house at the Battery. Alastair Seagroatt said: "Thank you, everyone, for supporting our open-air cinema at Dunbar on Saturday 28th Sept. It was a beautiful, mainly-still night and the audience response was superb. Our autumn films in East Linton will start again soon; we’ll let you know the films after our next meeting. Many thanks again." www.pixinthestix.org.uk/ "Get your name on their mailing list":--
FB, www.facebook.com/pages/category/Movie-Theater/Pix-in-the-Stix-186782084695454/
photo courtesy Pix in the Stix
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Sailing Club's Craning-out Day Monday 7th Oct. The autumn crane-out went extremely smoothly and efficiently. It was a great spectacle with yachts being craned out and 'flown' through the air. The marshals, wearing their hi-vis vests, ensured a safe completion, despite a strong wind.
photos courtesy Paul Ingram (Sailing Club Commodore)
Click <READ MORE> for photo of Kilmaha airborne.
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Catch me if you can.... The two fish boxes above show two very different catches from Dunbar Harbour. At Dunbar harbour we are trying to roll back the plastic tide but we rely on everyone to be tidy. Plastic pollution is a human problem and thus can be solved only by we humans.
The health of our oceans is vital, please see: https://www.goesfoundation.com/ and especially 'Call to Action' www.goesfoundation.com/call-to-action/ Our harbourmaster, Quentin Dimmer, recently met with the GOES organisation which is based in Edinburgh.
Stopping the plastic tide is vital for the future health of our oceans and so is stopping the chemical tide. We can all make choices with the products that we purchase and some of the most toxic are actually cleaning products that we use in our homes, and personal care products such as cosmetics and sun-screen. The Global Oceanic Environmental Study (GOES Foundation) based in Edinburgh is advocating that we should all take a non-toxic approach to how we live: design out and ban all toxic chemicals, hazardous waste and plastics. Their website lists the most toxic of these chemicals and ones that must be avoided, not only for the health of the environment, but for your own health and wellbeing, especially the health of children.
photo by Quentin Dimmer, FP page: @dunbarharbour
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On Sept. 28th Dunbar Rowing Club hosted its Tweed Row from Tweedmouth to Paxton House and return, about 12 miles in total. This annual 'raid', organised by the Club's Paul Ingram, has increased in popularity every year and 2019's event hosted 22 skiffs. The weather was sunny and the skiffs managed to negotiate the shallows and deeps of this tidal part of the Tweed, rowing even past Paxton House to upriver of the chain-link bridge (the famous Union Suspension Bridge).
NB: Border reivers were raiders along the Anglo-Scottish border
photos by Christine Mincher (photo 1: 'preparation at Tweedmouth')
Click <READ MORE> for photo 2: 'relax by the river'.
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In September Dunbar RNLI volunteers were delighted to receive a new television set thanks to the generosity of the town’s Rotary Club.
The new smart TV was part of a £500 donation and will allow the station to benefit from a new volunteer paging system currently being rolled out by the charity. Under the state-of-the-art RCAMS system, in an emergency situation, the TV will show which volunteers are able to respond to a shout, quickly helping prepare the right response. Dunbar Lifeboat coxswain Gary Fairbairn said: “Thanks to the very kind donation from the Rotary Club, the station will be able to benefit from the latest technological advances.
The Rotary Club of Dunbar meets every Monday evening at 6.30pm at the Hillside Hotel.
photo courtesy RNLI: Nick Mailer
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The Harbour Trust has put together successful FLAG and Marine Scotland grant applications. Most of the allowable costs are expected to be grant-funded, leaving the Trust with less than £5,000 to find from its own funds.
Most of the cameras will be Hikvision 'Darkfighter' marine-grade, stainless-steel units to improve the effectiveness of the images and protect from the adverse conditions that we experience at the harbour.
Upgrading, improving and adding to the existing CCTV cameras means the final total will be 12 cameras in Cromwell, Victoria, the Maggie and the Battery area, surveying several directions. The cameras are aimed at the boats and harbour working areas.
Appreciation is given to the Dunbar Sailing Club and Barry Buglass for allowing their premises to be used for this project. CCTV signs will be posted around the harbour once Planning Permission has been granted.
photo by Kenny Maule
Click <READ MORE> for photo 2 from Hikvision's brochure
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Spitfire had a propeller problem recently and was 'careened' on the maintenance bay. This involved taking the current prop off, then sending it north for repair, temporarily installing its older 'spare prop to continue prawn-trawling, and then swapping props again.
Prawn crackers!
photo by Kenny Maule
Click <READ MORE> for photo 2
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1) At the Battery, 7th October. Dunbar Grammar School National 5 Drama Students will rehearse and perform 2x 20minute performances devised by the students as part of the Drama Skills unit of their National course at the school.
More detail and timings TBC: see https://dunbarbattery.org.uk/events/
2) More drama! Craning-out day is planned for Monday 7th October, morning, usually about 9am til noon. This is a great spectacle with yachts being craned out and 'flown' through the air. Bring your camera for super shots, but keep clear -- obey the marshals wearing hi-vis vests.
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Our second massive aircraft carrier, the HMS Prince of Wales, was launched on Sept.19th and passed under the Forth bridges into the North Sea on Sept.22nd.
She is the seventh Royal Navy ship to have the name HMS Prince of Wales. Construction began in 2011 at Rosyth Dockyard, finishing her fitting-out in Sept. 2019.
- AIS Vessel Type: Combat.
- Gross Tonnage: 65000
- Length Overall x Breadth Extreme: 282.9m × 69m
- Years Built: 2011 -- 2019
The 65,000-tonne warship was moored outside Rosyth dockyard for 4 days, because it is very difficult to maneuver this 230m ship into the Forth and under the bridges without hitting any obstacles. She can only be moved under the bridges at low tide, with her radar mast dipped to avoid hitting the underside of the bridges.
Her flight deck is 70 metres wide and 280 metres long – enough space for three football pitches – and she holds 45 days’ worth of food in stores.
She will have a crew-complement of around 700, increasing to around 1,600 with aircraft onboard. HMS Prince of Wales’ size and scope is awe-inspiring – she can embark 36 F-35B and four Merlin Helicopters. We may have already seen her from Dunbar, during her sea trials. She can be visible even at 20 miles offshore.
photos courtesy twitter feed: @HMSPWLS