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IOS Sailing Community is a long-established independent website promoting Isle Of Sheppey's superb sailing waters & facilities and also provides one of the most popular free WeatherCam services in the South East.

Established in 1996, the site was voluntarily created to help promote IOS Sailing Club, one of the first sailing clubs to have a web presence.

Since 2003, it has gone on to develop into one of the most popular weather sites in the South East thanks to the addition of a bespoke, state-of-the-art online WeatherCam system developed, run & funded by Designbell.uk.

In July 2014, after 18 years successfully representing the club, a new committee, desiring a website of their own, decided on a 'parting of the ways' at short notice, requiring removal of the original WeatherCam system and for the site to cease using the club's name.

To facilitate this, whilst continuing to benefit the club & sailing community, the website was renamed IOS Sailing Community, providing a more flexible remit and the WeatherCams relocated, rebuilt, and expanded with the help of other local organisations.

At the Sailing Club's 2016 AGM, members paved the way for both parties to once again work more closely together.

IOS Sailing Community aims to provide high-quality sailing and weather related info for the Isle Of Sheppey and surrounding areas, plus the wider sailing community.

This website was created & has been run by James Bell since 1996. An island based sailor since age 4; ex-Kent Schools Sailing Association member; winner of the medium handicap & second in the fast handicap at the '93 National Schools Sailing Association Regatta at Grafham; a Life Honorary Rear Commodore of IOS Sailing Club; two years as Rear-Commodore Sailing re-establishing a regular racing programme following a long absence of regular competitive sailing, followed by a further 8 years as the club's youngest Commodore (at age 26) reviving, modernising, developing & growing membership of the club, including organising ten consecutive Round the Island Races (2002-2011), during which time entries to the race almost tripled. In 2017, serving a further 6 years as Commodore safely seeing the club through and emerge successfully from the global pandemic & overseeing a further 6 island races.

 

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