Category: Blog (Page 1 of 27)

The blog is reborn!

 

After a break of over a year the Cambria blog is now back alive and well. Pop back for updates and news on this magnificent and historic Thames sailing barge.

This blog is now ‘moored up’.

Cambria in the 2015 Medway - pic by Maggs Casey Kelly

Cambria in the 2015 Medway – pic by Maggs Casey Kelly

All good things must come to an end. they say. Your trusty blogger has now been ‘at it’ all through the rebuild phase (dead easy because I lived in Faversham and could get down there every weekend!) and has since watched ‘our’ antics from the ‘Wesht’ of Ireland, 500 miles away from the nearest Thames Barge, getting access to the aul’ girl only when I came over in September for the St Kat’s display week(end). That worked well for a while but an evolution in the way we do ‘Social Media’ has seen a superb ‘flowering’ of reporting through Facebook and (to a lesser extent) Twitter, through Skipper, Ian Ruffles, through Maggs Casey Kelly and Dave Brooks plus, when the boat was in the hands of Sea Change, though Hilary Halajko’s “Cambria Watch” reports. I suspect that anyone interested in our adventures uses these media to stay in touch and the blog has run its natural course. I personally have also ‘moved on’ and find myself stepping away from things barge and moving now more into new areas.

So, I thank you all for your attention and I am sure that we have had a real go at it. I thoroughly enjoyed the blogging and I know from the feedback that many people enjoyed the posts. I am therefore, ‘signing off’ as blogger (The Trust may decide that it still wants a blog and invites a new writer to take up the keyboard; that is a decision for the future) and will stay interested in Cambria’s exploits but not as a reporter. Thank you for your attention over the years and for the excellent feedback. Happy Barging.

“Wrap me up in me oilskins and jumper
No more on this blog I’ll be seen
Just tell me old shipmates, I’m taking a trip mates
And I’ll see you someday on Fiddlers Green” (Sorry)

 

Spring Maintenance

New kitchen; Pic by Ian Ruffles

New kitchen; Pic by Ian Ruffles

Today’s pics are both by Ian Ruffles. You can see that the winter has been fruitfully spent changing the galley area around, extending the worktops and cupboards. This to help make the galley more fit for creating the large amounts of servings of, for example, breakfast when the bigger parties of sail trainees are on board.

The poly-tunnel part of our winter work, though, is nearly done and Dave Brooks has posted this following call to arms to anyone who would like to help as we uncover the barge and get her fit again for sailing.

Dave writes ….

“We are now 5 weeks from leaving Faversham for the dry dock at Oare Creek. We have achieved quite a lot in the close season but now is the time for making the barge look the smartest she has been since she first left Faversham in 2011. This is the proposed schedule for the following weekends.

28/1. Painting Sprit, Inner Rails, Windlass (all buff)? Deck (blue) This needs to be concentrated on the foredeck back to the fore horse so that the Poly Tunnel can be disassembled and stacked neatly later.

7/8 Mar. Dressing Sails (Ian to confirm location) On the barge. More painting as above moving aft.

14/15 Mar. Dressing Sails if overrun or postponed due to weather from last week.On the barge Continue painting as before. Wheelhouse and iron work. Begin rigging out.

21/22 Mar. Removal of Poly-tunnel. Rigging out

28/29 Mar. Possibly moving to Oare. Gear Up.

Will advise what can be done at Oare after consultation with shipwrights.

Desperately need bodies for all these weekends. Please beg wives, girlfriends, family and friends to come and help, and pass on to anybody I have missed.
Please advise if you can make any of the dates.”

 

Mark Grimwade anchor, pic by Ian Ruffles

Mark Grimwade anchor, pic by Ian Ruffles

Meanwhile some bad news and some good news. It seems we have been broken into again and (reports Ian Ruffles) “Unfortunately yesterday when we arrived at the barge to continue our galley painting, we found the barge had been broken into again. As you can imagine us at Cambria Trust together with our volunteers this year who have worked so hard to get her ready for the new season are feeling quite upset, this has now put us behind in our preparations, so as per Dave’s post if you can give some spare time to help us that would be much appreciated.”  Stolen was the Flat Screen TV, the Surveillance box, laptop, hand held radio, money and, for some reason, a box of Weetabix. On the good news front, a gent called Mark Grimwade has let us have (back) an old anchor sold to him in the 50s by Cap’n Bob Roberts for use as part of a mooring at Pinmill. Thanks Mark!

 

Note AGM Date 21st Feb 12 Noon

Undercover - Picture By Bruce Richardson

Undercover – Picture By Bruce Richardson

Just in from Trust Chair Bruce Richardson, the notice and Agenda for the coming 2015 AGM – your chance to hold the Board to account for their decisions and running of the company up to now and to quiz them on any concerns you have. It is also the annual chance to see how we are doing financially and to hear about the operational plans for 2015. If you are concerned that it might be long, dry and boring (as these meetings can be), trust me, I have never found that. They move along at a goodly pace and do not send you to sleep. Go along and enjoy the meeting, meet the Team and learn a lot about the running of a Thames Barge as a business in 2015.

 

2015 Agenda

2015 Agenda

Sail Repairs

Steve Hall sailmaker

Steve Hall sailmaker

Our mainsail, which just about fitted into the back of an enormous Japanese 4 wheel drive (someone was actually wondering whether we might be able to wangle some sponsorship out of Mitsubishi for the pictures!) has now made it as far as our sailmaker, Steve Hall of North Sea Sails, Tollesbury, for some repairs. Readers will know that the sails were originally made there using the mainly traditional methods by Steve. They were unfortunately damaged last winter by some sparks thrown up by the injudicious use of an angle grinder on the quayside by a contractor working for the landlord, cutting off old mooring rings.

 

There is a lovely series of pictures of the sailmaker at work, taken by Maggs Casey-Kelly and posted on our group page on Facebook. Thanks for those, Maggie. I reproduce one here just for the non-FB folks to give a flavour.

Dick Durham Podcasts

Dick Durham Podcast

Dick Durham Podcast

I think I have already mentioned these, but I am thoroughly enjoying the RSS feed from Yachting Monthly magazine, and in particular the periodic podcasts from our old mate (and Old Mate) Dick Durham. Try this link for starters – DD is now writing (and reading out; this is an audio podcast after all) his “Rough Guides” and this one ‘does’ the Essex coast.

http://www.yachtingmonthly.com/podcasts/dick-durham-podcast-the-essex-coast-is-the-subject-of-the-first-in-a-new-series-of-rough-guides-dick-durham-reveals-just-how-rough-it-is/

 

Having said that, either the RSS feed or my machine, is currently playing up and the fed items (podcasts, news, specials, boat reviews and blogs) all end up duplicated across all 5 receiving ‘baskets’ but it’s easy enough to delete the duplicates you don’t need.

Good Hunting.

 

 

Stocking Filler?

From Chris Harvey of the Thames Sailing Barge Trust via, in this case, an email from Restoration Project Manager, William Collard (Thank you, William) a possible last minute stocking filler if you are stuck for a gift for the barge-nut in your life.

Chris says “Christmas is fast approaching, and here’s a gift idea for anyone you know who is fond of Thames sailing barges – or maybe you just want to treat yourself.  All you need to know about our beautiful 2015 calendar and how to order can be found on the attached flyer.  Any purchases you make will be helping us to looking after our two historic barges, Centaur and Pudge“.

2015 TSBT Calendar

2015 TSBT Calendar

 

Meanwhile, on Cambria, another burst of heroic hard work from the team sees our poly tunnel sheeting now stretched across the arches and we are nicely snugged down for the winter re-fit. Inevitably the existing team are always asking around for more volunteers and now, if you fancy a bit of painting or cleaning or any other barge related work, you will be all warm and dry out of the wind and weather.

Tunnel on, picture by Dave Brooks

Tunnel on, picture by Dave Brooks

Volunteers and more Volunteers

Poly-tunnel hoops are up

Poly-tunnel hoops are up

There has been a nice sequence of pictures posted on the Facebook group by Dave Brooks describing the superb efforts some of the volunteers in erecting our poly-tunnel for protection this winter. The gang were listed as ” Skipper Ian Ruffles with Reggie Andrews, Mick Nolan, Basil Brambleby, Bruce Richardson, and his dad”. The hoops went up on 16th November and there were even some pictures of 3rd Hand (Reggie) getting down and dirty retrieving some metal parts which were dropped overboard into the ‘oggin’ climbing down a ladder over the side and I expect, trying not to have to get off the ladder while reaching an arm down into the mud. November. Must have been a bit chilly, but there’s volunteering above and beyond the call of duty!

 

Meanwhile, following our success in 2013 applying for the ‘Volunteer of the Year Award(s)’ offered by the Marsh Christian Trust under the wing of National Historic Ships, we tried again. In 2013 Cambria’s two heroic teenage Volunteers, Beth and Hannah Pihama, won the Young Persons’ award outright. This year we entered our man Richard Weekes in the adult section. Well, he didn’t win outright but we did get a lovely letter and a smart certificate from the Marsh Christian Trust / National Historic Ships teams, as follows…

 

Dear Matt, 
Application for the Marsh Volunteer Award for Historic Vessel Conservation 2014

I am writing to let you know the outcome of the judging panel’s discussions on the applications for this
Richard Weekes, whose name you put forward for this award has not won on this occasion. However, we
want to publicly acknowledge the valuable contribution Richard is making through all that he does for the
historic vessel Cambria. Please find enclosed a ‘Highly Commended’ certificate to be presented to him in
view of his unstinting support for the maritime heritage of the United Kingdom.

This year’s Winners, together with those of the Young Volunteer of the Year Award, will be published on the News section of our website later this month.

Many thanks again for your application; we hope the Awards will be of interest to you again next year. Kind regards,

Paula Palmer

Office & Web Manager

National Historic Ships UK”

Richard Weekes Cert

Richard Weekes Cert

Richard’s Certificate.

 

Well done and a huge Thank You to all our volunteers, even if they do not all get themselves pictured scrambling down muddy ladders or get described only as someone’s Dad, or they don’t get entered for formal Awards. We greatly value all your works and know that we could not  keep this barge out there and sailing without you.

Thank You

Phil Latham Serial (Part 3)

Ian Riffles on Gloriana

Ian Riffles on Gloriana

I loved this pic of ‘our’ Skipper, Ian Ruffles ‘playing away’. The pic, supplied by Maggs Casey Kelly has Ian, who you may know is also the full time Skipper of the historic vessel Havengore (she of the moving Winston Churchill’s coffin up river and the first ever boat with an on board computer) and here gets to play with the Queen’s rowing barge, Gloriana. I see he’s in his working garb, though, so must have just been sneaking her about privately. He scrubs up nice when he’s on official business!

…and so to our third and final part of the Phil (Ginger) Latham series so without further ado…

Phil writes:

“One of our first visitors to arrive was Anne Roberts for a pleasant chat which was followed by a gratifyingly large number of the public including Ron Turner, ex-Superintendent of the Thames division and a good friend of ours in the sixties, who presented a painting of SB Cambria off the Sunk to Cambria Trust, and I hope they find a good place for it: The painting was done for him by an ex-mate Jimmy Penn. Also visiting, was an old gentleman in his eighties, of the same name as Ron who was third hand on the Will Everard at the end of the war, very clear in his memories and interesting to talk to, convinced that his year or so on the Will had set him up for life, kill or cure I reckon but it certainly appeared to have worked in his case.

Another visitor was the son of a previous skipper of Cambria before Bob took her over. Altogether a successful day and we “stuck it out” to the press at every opportunity about the role of Cambria Trust in the re-construction although not much seems to have been published. All day long it went on with many a moan, “typical Norwich organisation, you only know about something when it’s about over”.

After all of this excitement we closed down until the arrival in the evening of the Flying Folk Association. These folks arranged themselves up forward and started singing, mostly un-accompanied, one after the other; though there was one man with a “squeeze box”. Bob would have been right at home. One of our casual, non-singing visitors mentioned that he lived in one of the flats opposite and Mark said that he hoped there would be no trouble about noise. “Don’t worry about that”, said our visitor, “I’m chairman of the residents association and I’ll soon sit on any nonsense of that sort”. There goes the effect again.
Now some people may object to my term “ditch crawling” but since the end of commercial use, the Wensum at Norwich has silted up somewhat, it never was deep and we used to slide most of the last mile or so up to the berth behind the tug who just stayed in the middle and let us elongate our arms heaving on the wheel.
Thursday night / Friday morning was designated for our re-negotiation of the rail bridge. Our muscular young bridge operator was once again on duty, so to our “green layby” until the Broads tug showed up at sparrow cough; the plan was to get down to Yarmouth in one day but this depended on a early start to save the last of the flood tide at Haven Bridge.

All went well to start, but picking Mark up in our boat at Brundall where he had left his tug proved to be a bit fraught but we captured Mark and importantly our boat too. Sorry Mark, but there are priorities in this life! We had been joined for the trip down river and the re-rig by Niel Goldie but had lost Stretch at Malden for several days. All went well until Reedham Approaches when the railway turned true to form and couldn’t swing for us as the trains were running behind time, whereupon traditional fault lines appeared in conversation on board; luckily not forwarded by the Skipper to the bridge operatives or we might still be up above Reedham. When eventually we got the swing we arrived at the same time as a fleet of traditional sailing cruisers, who unfortunately lost the draught in the bridge hole and the Skipper got his down river edition of the “Kiniptions” but no contact, just as well. On entering Breydon we lost the services of our escort launch and were again joined by the larger “ with attitude” vessel for our onward voyage.

Now came another delay for Breydon road bridge and time was getting tight for the flood tide, however the effect worked again and I swear the bridge opened wider this time , but who cared, we were still lowered flat and so to the Haven bridge and the last of the flood. I’ve seen coasters take the bridge on the ebb and it’s scary, just watching, especially if you are moored just below the bridge and worry about receiving the vessel, or what’s left of her as a result of wild steering. However, all was well and we moored up on our berth at Heritage Quay. So, up mainmast and topmast, what a jolly life it is ditch crawling! Serious thoughts about C4 explosives but calmed down by a visit to the headquarters bar.
Saturday was up mizzen day, which went very well and out bow-sprit which was a bit of a pig, especially the cat’s cradle of rigging now associated with it. Getting the bolt back in went very well, the alignment being perfect first time. The rigging took longer; it is a well-known fact, that rope left to itself will spontaneously knot and this lot had had the best part of a week. In my time it was much simpler its purpose not being to stop silly sailors, or in this case young beginner from falling into the “ogin”. OH No, it was there to stop expensive sails from going ogin-wards. In those more heroic days before risk assessment,’ elf and safety’ and duty of care any right-minded skippers regarded one as more or less expendable but a good sail as being harder and longer to replace! After assisting Tom in unravelling the mess I began to see the old boys’ point of view, as long as it wasn’t extended to me!
Sunday was re-dressing the mizzen and housekeeping generally. The wind was veering into the West with a half promise of North West, a sailorman’s dream in Yarmouth. I was really tempted but my rail ticket was paid for and my ferry return for Monday evening. I’d sailed in and out of Yarmouth several times but cannot recall freight when we had managed a double, so when the Skipper and Tom insisted on carrying my bags for me to the station a vision of Prison Governor and his Chief Warden escorting an unlamented inmate off the premises flashed across my mind, no pure imagination! But I’ll always regret not doing the passage back especially as I received a text from Niel confirming her arrival at Mersea on Tuesday morning.

That’s it for the coastal cruise this year. All good healthy exercise if you don’t weaken.

All the best and may the effect be with you.
Phil Latham

“June 28th / 29th 1966: 150 tons of mustard seed in bulk, ex-Loch Garth, Royal Victoria Dock, for Coleman’s Wharf Norwich. Sailed June 30th from Erith arrived Yarmouth July 2nd, arrived Norwich July 6th and discharged July 7th. Sailed light from Norwich on July 12th.”

This piece of information has been copied from Bob Robert’s Cargo Book, and appears to be the last trip SB Cambria made to Norwich. BJB

Phil Latham Serial (Part 2)

Prowess book

Prowess book

Fair play to the SSBR who this year gave to all subscribers (Yes, even overseas me!)  a free hardback book. This “The Prowess of Charlie Fielder” is by David G Wood and Richard J Walsh is nominally worth £13.50, so the Society is giving you most of your subscription back. That has got to count as generosity indeed. The book, latest publication from the Chaffcutter stable was born out of an amazing find/save by family members of Charlie, a suitcase full of papers and logs, photographs and so on detailing Charlie Fielder’s sailing career from the 20’s starting on sailing barges such as Agnes Mary (when he was 18) and then on through powered craft, small tankers and so on, especially the eponymous “Prowess”. I have not had time to read the whole book yet but I have dipped in and it is a fascinating story. Well done and Thank You very much, the team at SSBR.

 

Prowess 2

Prowess 2

But what of young Phil (Ginger) Latham, last heard of firmly moored outside and adjourned to the Ferry pub by Reedham as part of their adventure up to Great Yarmouth. Phil picks up the story in part 2 of our serial.

 

Next on the programme was celebrating Mark’s 60th birthday for which he had obtained the services of a local group called the “Cleaving Heavages” the group consisted of a three girl front line, supported by two guys on guitars. Now you have to understand that this wasn’t your classic folk group but I can imagine my old skipper trying to insinuate himself into the line-up! All went well as Mark had arranged for plenty of food plus an “open bar”. I even managed a dance with a press lady who promised advance publicity in Norwich. She survived unmaimed and my knees lasted out so we’ll call that a win-win, for me at least! So after the groups second set we settled into the back bar and commenced our own concert with a repertoire more suited to Bob, this ditch crawling can be hell!!
The next day being Monday we lowered down the main and topmasts ready for the road bridge. It’s a fact that on this road trip I was often asked if it was difficult to lower the masts down? “No”, I’d reply, “that is mostly gravity. It is getting the pesky things back up that causes the agro”. The slow recognition was comic to observe. Anyway, our tug turned up complete with brains-trust and we proceeded through afore mentioned bridge which I feel could benefit from four moderate cakes of C4 explosive, after all , what’s wrong with a lifting span on a by-pass road? It could be restricted to open between 2 am – 5 am like Norwich rail bridge which leads me to our next stop. Said Rail Bridge has seldom opened since close of commercial navigation which engendered some justified anxiety on the railway.

 

We moored to a short quay (Cambria 50%) after Tom had pruned some greenery overhanging the quarters (there’s a lot of fun attached to ditch crawling)! Our daytime tug disappeared to Brundall and Mark went down with it to pick up a low powered launch with towing post for our nocturnal endeavours. We, in the meantime occupied ourselves by applying a mixture known as Tom’s patent gunk to all the servings now easily accessible with the gear down. Some wires showing signs of distress were also treated. I cannot of course, reveal the recipe for said gunk but believe it was the child of necessity concocted with the Skippers approval and proved very successful if only in the fact of a short drying time. You really wouldn’t want to appear in Norwich with a wet coat of Tom’s gunk on your person, but servings clearly loved it. So at 2 pm we put our shore bosun crew, Niel, ashore by powered whaler to tend ropes and proceeded to the closed rail bridge.
In casual 2.00 o’clock in the morning type conversation we learned that a team of good old Essex boys from Colchester had been working on the (expletive!) rail bridge had deleted the controls for several days but had only managed to jack the bridge up to swing after which everything went pear-shaped so they attached a wire to the bridge and told the youngest member of the team that he now had a God given chance to find out how Grandad used to do it!! So he wound like a hero and a handraulic barge was towed through a handraulic bridge at 02 15 hrs with mutual satisfaction and on to Carrow Road Bridge which opened promptly. The Bridge master called to say that the first new bridge was open and that they’d be down to open the second. Right, time for a cup of tea, we thought, WRONG! As we towed at walking pace we were overtaken by two MUNICIPAL bridge men RUNNING and SMILING! “KEEP HER COMING SKIP WE’LL HAVE IT OPEN for YOU”!! And they did. Mark showed hidden talent as a tug skipper and with help from a check-rope handled by Niel, we were round in one. Bridge promptly closed behind us and our athletic bridge team overtook us ready to close the second bridge just above our berth, a cheery wave as they passed on the way back to Carrow Road the effect is really strong in Norwich! We decided not to heave the mainmast up at 3 am as old Reed and Colman mills have now been converted to , or replaced by “bijou” flats and the merry tinkle of windlass pawls might have annoyed, also Mark was swearing because our berth had lain fallow for eight years, however it was now covered with heavy machinery and peace and quiet seemed unlikely!!
At sparrow cough we turned out to the roar of earth movers etc. and the sight of a B.B.C. sound car from local radio to do an item on us for the morning edition. After conferring with the Skipper he asked the site boss for some quiet and received it. That effect again – the Guy had come over for a “fill-in” on Cambria and her visit so was very co-operative. This courtesy was extended to the afternoon visit from Anglia T.V. and a local commercial radio. No one heard our windlass pawls as we didn’t ask for a pause. Next day we were joined by the Albion wherry and did an open day. Visiting the wherry was a mixed affair. Her hold, to us a minute affair and the annoying habit of her skipper to boast about being able to send his mast up by the pushing with a figure was not very diplomatic, but the beautifully simplistic blacksmith ironwork was a joy. Anyway, her mast wouldn’t do her any good around Orford-Ness, even if it is sour grapes, so there.”

Thanks once again for this, Phil. Part 3 soon.

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