Mersea Island is a growing
community, with local shops and other amenities
necessary to everyday life. There is a primary
school that is expanding its numbers rapidly
mirroring the growing population of the island.
Many of the youngsters form the large Scout
group that is present on Mersea. It is one of
the few to have both land and sea Scout troops
within the same group. Both the primary school
and the Scout group have active links with
Mersea Outdoors centre for outdoor
learning, where the children often go to
practice outdoor activities.
There is a thriving sailing
community, with both the
Dabchicks Sailing Club and the
West Mersea Yacht Club strong in members,
and very active.
Each year, towards the end of
August, there is the regatta, which comes at the
end of a week of hard racing. During Mersea Week
(as it is known) there is a round-the-island
race, which is always fun to watch - because you
cannot actually sail the entire way round the
island due to The Strood, so waiting at The
Strood are hundreds of trailers and helpers
ready to carry boats across the road!
The Regatta involves some
sensible races - such as:
· Row
from this buoy to that one
... and some not-so-sensible
races - from:
· How
fast exactly can 12 men in a boat paddling with
spades actually go?
... to...
· If
we put enough grease on this telegraph pole, lay
it horizontally, and put a flag on the end, do
you think any one will get the flag?
There are two parish churches, at
east and west, also Methodist, Free Church,
Brethren and Catholic churches. These often join
together to form Churches Together In Mersea (CTIM).
