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In the early nineteen hundreds the liaison between the RCYC, the BYC (later the RBYC), and the CYC was primarily to organise the end-of-season regatta. The Crouch Yacht Club Minute Book of 1935 records the unanimous approval of the proposal that the Commodore and Mr Hood should represent that club on the Joint Racing Committee.
It is apparent from the minutes of the JCC from 1951 to 1968 that, before the establishment of the Crouch Harbour Authority (CHA) and the Crouch Area Yachting Federation (CAYF), the JCC assumed the role of overseers of the river and its surrounds. The subjects of their concerns ranged widely, covering the interests of the various users of the river.
In the early years the JCC dealt with the proposed damming of Lion Creek, thanked Mr Dyce Petticrow for his care in laying the cables across the river and was exasperated by the menace of speeding motor launches. This last matter involved considerable effort as the responsibility was passed from the Urban District Council, the Ministry of Transport and the Essex County Council at various times.
The Committee dealt with Trinity House over the laying of new navigational buoys and regretted the lack of capital that prevented the provision of 'leading lights' to aid mariners wishing to make a safe entry into the Crouch after dark. In 1963 it raised objections to a proposal from the Chelmsford Area Planning Office to a floating petrol station, considering it to be a hazard to navigation and that it " would not be in keeping with the anchorage and its surroundings" and that while it might provide a service for motor craft, "it is not a much needed facility."
The JCC also concerned itself with the mooring of commercial vessels in the Crouch (1958), the increase of the commercial use of the river (1963), an extension to Wallasea Island Timber Wharf in the same year and the proposed planning of a factory on the same site. Planning for that venture was eventually refused.
Perhaps the JCC's most important self-imposed task was that of watching over Foulness Island. In 1952 there were strong objections raised to the proposal of the firing range on Foulness. As current local residents experience the shaking of their windows on most Tuesdays, this was obviously a battle lost against the giants of the Ministry of Defence. But there were other battles to be fought over Foulness. In 1964 the Committee dealt with 'restrictions of landing' on the island and required further information about the issuing of passes. Those of us who have run aground in the area would know that it happens, with or without such official documents! The Committee continued to concern itself with the Rights of Way, a matter which appeared on the agenda for several years, taking up cudgels on behalf of the Bird Watching Society as well as the Yacht Owners. The greatest threat to the tranquillity of these waters came in 1968 with proposal to put a third London Airport on Foulness. This was a battle won!
These days the responsibility of the JCC is concerned with providing the best possible racing for an important regatta whilst other organisations deal with the other problems. However, we need to thank the gentlemen who fought so hard in the early days to protect these rivers from undue development and unsuitable commercial use, so that we can enjoy the peace and tranquillity of these remote waters today.
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