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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Johnny practices his macrame: "whit a guddle, man"
Winter has finished and, despite wind and rain, a lot of maintenance has been completed so the leisure boats were craned in on 12th April.
The Sailing Club organises this tricky series of manoeuvres and, as usual, it was completed in good time, and safely too.
Luckily it was Friday the 12th, not Friday the 13th.
photos by Kenny Maule
Click READ MORE to see Davey's boat fly-y--y-y- - -
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A sponsored walk from North Berwick Harbour to Dunbar Harbour.
Would you like to participate in a sponsored walk to help us raise funds for our annual Sparkling Dunbar Harbour Festival where peculiar pirates visit every year?
A fabulous and free annual community event!
Event Details: Voodz, the vicious pirate will lead you along the John Muir Way with her villainous friends to occupy lands and vanquish our rivals. Argh mateys, are you up for the challenge? Register here: https://bit.ly/2Ur8RQj
Location: North Berwick Harbour to Dunbar Harbour, along the John Muir Way (approx. 12 miles)
Date:Sun 26th May Time: 10:15 departure. Meet outside the Seabird Centre, North Berwick at 9:30 approx.
Another way to register contact the organiser email: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
Confirmation of your registration and a sponsor form will be sent to you after you register.
photos by Fraser Stewart
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Bob Clunas has returned briefly to Dunbar, fettled his ‘fifie’ Marean and and is ready to sail 330 miles to his new home in Helmsdale by crossing Scotland twice using three Scottish canals, routing via:
- The North Sea,
- Firth of Forth,
- Forth-Clyde canal,
- Firth of Clyde,
- Sound of Bute,
- Crinan canal,
- Firth of Lorne,
- Loch Linnhe, passing Ben Nevis,
- Caledonian canal,
- Moray Firth,
- finally completing his voyage on the North Sea to Helmsdale.
Click READ MORE for a map of his route.
photo 1 by Kenny Maule and photo 2 from googlemaps.
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Recently a humpback whale was washed on Tyninghame Beach, entangling ropes still attached, already dead. Apparently it was the whale seen several weeks ago entangled in creel ropes in the Forth and seems to have drowned when it lost control of its surfacing ability.
The RNLI Inshore (ILB) floated it off the beach, the Offshore (OLB) slowly towed it to Skateraw. Two tractors pulled it above the waterline where the scientists dissected it on the beach and veterinary pathologist Dr Andrew Brownlow performed a necropsy. As a result of the entanglement, the whale lost condition and was therefore more susceptible to the effects of infection and parasitism, which debilitated it further. The lungs evidenced that it had eventually drowned, either through exhaustion, or because it became further entangled. Entanglements are a relatively rare occurrence in Scottish waters but can pose a threat to human safety also.
This humpback is estimated to be 9m long, weighing around 8 tonnes (adults range in length from 12–16 m and weigh around 25–30 tonnes).
Dunbar’s harbourmaster and the fishermen are working with the Scottish Entanglement Alliance (SEA) dedicated to promoting and protecting Scotland’s wildlife, heritage, and sustainable marine industries. SEA will work closely with the Scottish inshore fishing industry to provide an engagement programme to understand the scale and impact of marine animal entanglements in our waters, and work towards developing strategies to reduce this threat. https://www.scottishentanglement.org/
Very sad.
photos by Kenny Maule
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Esperanza, one of the Greenpeace ships, called by and anchored one night, just outside the harbour before heading north.
She (it, in modern parlance) is a converted fishery-patrol vessel.
Click READ MORE for the technically-minded.
photo by Kenny Maule
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No matter how short the boat-trip, lifejackets are vitally important.
These kids are clearly safety-concious.
Are your lifejackets maintained and correctly-adjusted ?
photos by Kenny Maule, with permission from their parents.
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As part of the Marine Scotland grant for Harbour Repairs an audit of the lifting bridge was carried out by specialist consultants on moving structures.
This is like a car MOT and looks at each component of the bridge. It identified and detailed further investigation into bridge bearings and hydraulics, also advice on controlling the opening/ closing of the bridge.
photo by Kenny Maule
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User Rating: 5 / 5
This giant green crane costs £2,000/day and drives at a maximum of 40mph.
Want to hire it? -- then remember you also pay for (very slow) positioning costs!
The work has been a 9m. extension to the slipway, from the west edge of the bridge directly into Victoria Harbour in order to improve tidal access for the RNLI’s ILB launch and recovery. There has been temporary closure of the Broadhaven slipway and divers were down for several days (!), to be less dependent on the tides. The work caused occasional inconvenience for harbour users however work-dates were changed to make allowance for the craning-in boat lift on 12 April. The works are expected to cease by May 3rd, so fingers crossed.
photos by Kenny Maule
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Robin Hamilton of the Harbour Trust has continued overseeing the harbour wall-repairs.
Robin is not the Smurf, by the way.
Where was the Marine Scotland Grant £107.5k grant used?
- Underpinning toe of outer north wall at chainages.
- Repairs to basalt blocks on outer NW where sheared
- Johnston’s Hole Repair.
- Lifting Bridge Audit complete awaiting report
- Rock Armour for breakwater 150t delivered to site
- Small repairs, mainly grouting,
- Cromwell/Broadhaven/South-wall/Inner North-wall.
- Investigate NW quayside for voids Ch 150 to 162
- Improve Cromwell paths
- Electrical audit, Ladder and depth gauge repair
What was this meticulous Smurf looking for? Maybe a damaged block? Click READ MORE below to find out.
photos by Kenny Maule
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April 16 Environmental Open Day. An event for all the family: Educational stalls and Upcycling activities for kids plus many other events. Harbour History Tour and "Ask your questions about the harbour". All details on Friends of Dunbar Battery and Harbour Trust FB pages.
May 26th 2019; 9.30am --5:00 pm. estimated time 5-6 hours, distance 18 miles approx.Pirates of the East Coast, a sponsored walk from North Berwick to Dunbar Battery along the John Muir Way. Meet-up at Seabird Centre, North Berwick. Watch out for registration details on Dunbar Online.
June 10th--23rd are the proposed dates for making the #LitterCUBES in Dunbar.
June 15, from 4:00 pm to 6:00 pm: THE THREE CRAWS RETURN...
June 17th; 11-- 2:00 pm. Fourth annual gathering of the East Lothian Archaeological, History and Genealogy Group. Site visit and tour of the Dunbar Battery.
June 22, 2019 Bands at the Battery
June 23, 2019 LITTORAL ART PROJECT
June 29 to June 30, 2019 BATTERY THEATRE COMPANY - "MARY, IT BEGAN WITH A LASS..."
July 6 to July 7th, 2019 BATTERY THEATRE COMPANY - "MARY, IT BEGAN WITH A LASS..."
July 13, from 1:00 pm to 7:00 pm. RNLI LIFEBOAT DAY
August 17th; 2-- 6:00 pm. Sparkling Dunbar: Saturday Live Music and stalls down in Victoria Harbour and the Dunbar Battery. Fun for all the family.
August 25, from 7:00 pm to 9:00 pm. THE VIBRATING ECSTATIC NOW: PASSIONATE ONES
September 6, to 7, Hemelvaart Bier Cafe AytonHemelvaart Rocks Festival
and ---- don't forget to view the "Craning-in of the yachts, Friday 12th April. First lift at 08:30am."
We’re looking for community groups, bands and individuals to use Dunbar Battery. If you are interested, please get in touch via https://dunbarbattery.org.uk/contact-us/