Tag: Dave Brooks (Page 1 of 3)

Volunteers and more Volunteers

November 25, 2014 /

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’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

Sailing Opportunity

September 22, 2014 / / 0 Comments

This just in from Dave Brooks.

Sailing Opportunities on Cambria

Sailing Opportunity

Sail on Britain’s most unique classic sailing vessel, Cambria, famed for being the last ever British registered sailing vessel to carry cargo under sail alone. Enjoy the experience of sailing without an engine.

27^th and 28^th Sept 2014 Short Weekend Sail

Muster at Gillingham Pier Kent 1.00pm for 3.00pm depart return following day 1.00pm

Pier Approach Road ME7 1RU

Catered

Kit list

Wet and dry weather clothing. Bedding i.e. Sleeping bag, pillow.

Cost £100.00

Min of 10

4^th and 5^th Oct 2014 Short Weekend Sail

Muster at Gillingham Pier Kent 07.30am for 9.00am depart return following morning 10.00am

Pier Approach Road ME7 1RU

Catered

Kit list

Wet and dry weather clothing. Bedding ie. Sleeping bag, pillow.

Cost £100.00

Min of 10

Contact

Dave Brooks on 07779 716453 or email cambriatrustsecretary@live.co.uk

Another Chance to Sail

September 2, 2014 /

Just in from Dave Brooks on Facebook

“Cambria will be leaving Gravesend on the 9th Sept at 5.00 am in the morning to travel up to St Katharine Dock. There are a limited number of places priced £75.00. Travel up the Thames and a chance of seeing some of the Tall Ships. Email Cambria Trust for further details on CambriaTrustSecretary@live.co.uk”

A bit short notice and a nice early start for you, but get in touch if you fancy it.

The barge will be in St Katharine Dock over the weekend of 13th/14th September and open to the public with lots of we helpful volunteers to show you around. Please drop in if you are free.

Dave also tells me that the 2015 Calendar will soon be ready and for sale. Watch this space.

A Chance to go Sailing!

July 14, 2014 / / 0 Comments

Oyez Oyez!

This just in from Dave Brooks, Secretary

Good Morning All.

An opportunity to sail aboard Cambria has arisen for the dates of 26/27 July.
You will muster at Gillingham Pier at 10.00am on the 26th July for a midday departure.
Sit back and enjoy a trip down the River Medway. Lunch and Evening meal will be served.
27th after breakfast a return sail back to Gillingham Pier, arriving midday.
Cost £150 per person.
Kit.
Suitable Clothing for wet and dry weather. Sleeping Bag and Pillows

We need a minimum of 8 people by the 22nd July.
Please contact Dave Brooks at cambriatrustsecretary@live.co.uk or ring 01634 660997

This will be on a first come first served basis

Regards

Dave Brooks

GET IN!

The Call Goes Out

March 3, 2014 / / 0 Comments

Stairs down into our main hold, now beautifully boxed in (Pic by Dave Brooks)

Hi. The call has gone out on Facebook and via email. We have some big, busy weekends coming up and if you can see your way clear to giving us a few hours as a volunteer then either contact us via CambriaTrustSecretaryt@live.co.uk, or come and find us moored at Standard Quay in Faversham. As Dave Brooks puts it…..

Calling All Cambria Volunteers and anybody else who would like to get involved.
We have a massive weekend coming up.
8/9 March. We are taking the poly tunnel off and the gear is going back up. We need volunteers especially on the Saturday as we need to get the polythene folded. 8.30 to 9.00 am start.

Then

15th March. Continue with the rigging
22/23 March General Maintenance and Painting

Urgently require painters.

29th Mar to 14th Apr dry dock and hull painting.

Please can you let me know via the cambriatrustsecretary@live.co.uk address if you are able to attend any of the above dates.

PLEASE HELP OUT IF YOU CAN.

Covered Up

February 23, 2014 / / 0 Comments

Just a quick post today to show you that the guys have now finished the poly tunnel – the cover is on! These two pictures were taken by Skipper Ian Ruffles and posted on FB by Dave Brooks. This was mainly to try out the cover and make sure they could make it work. It is actually only going to be on for a couple of weeks as we will then be headed for the dry dock and raising the gear again ready for the new season, but at least we know we have a working poly tunnel for the 2014/5 winter. Well done the winter re-fit team and thank you for sharing the pictures.

Thames Match 2013

July 14, 2013 /

Dave Brooks has sent me the following brilliant and thorough report on the 2013 Mark Boyle Memorial 150th Thames Match along with some superb pictures. I need add nothing.

Thames Match 2013; Picture by Dave Brooks.

Dave writes, ”

The Mark Boyle Memorial Thames Sailing Barge Match 2013.

Saturday 13/07/2013 saw sixteen barges gather to contest the 2013 83rd and 150 yr anniversary Thames Barge Match in tribute to the late Capt. Mark Boyle. Mark was the inspiration behind the return of the Thames Barge Match back in 1995 and worked tirelessly on its behalf until his sad loss late last year.

As the barge match was seeing its 150 yr anniversary a celebration was planned and the match was given the green light to finish at Erith for the first time since 1884.

So to the Lower Hope for the start of the match and in truth the conditions were threatening to put a spanner into the celebrations, as sixteen barges split into three classes awaited the start there wasn’t a puff of wind and it looked very much like we would have a drifting match on our hands.

Coasting class comprising of Cambria, Lady of the Lea, Reminder, Ardwina, Lady Daphne and Centaur were first away and drifted over the line in haphazard fashion, Lady of the Lea, Reminder and Cambria on the Kent side of the river making the better starts. Lady Daphne to whom I had defected for the weekend along with Ardwina and Centaur over on the Essex side were caught in the ebb and with no wind for steerage were heading for the new container port. Lady Daphne had no choice but to anchor and wait.

The Staysail class were fared no better with Wyvenhoe and Edith May soon joining Lady Daphne. It had appeared that Repertor had retired and used her engine to get her out of bother as had Ardwina earlier. Niagara again on the Kent side got away first.

Then the bowsprits got their turn, and having seen the Coasting class go off you might have thought they would have fared a little better. Xylonite and Marjorie were heading towards Essex but somehow managed to avoid the fate that had befallen the Lady Daphne, Edith May and Wyvenhoe all at anchor and seemingly destined to spend most of the day sunbathing. Decima, May and Mirosa made a reasonable start but Edme it would seem carries her own weather and was getting along quite nicely.

A hail from the Wyvenhoe informed us and the Edith May that the barge match committee had made a very difficult decision in allowing Repertor and Ardwina to contest the match having used engines and were also allowing Wyvenhoe, Lady Daphne and Edith May to use them to get off the Essex bank. Glad that I was not on the committee, but I applaud them for making the decision knowing it could provide fierce debate later in the day. The day was for celebration after all and a lot of effort was made by a lot of people, Committee, Owners and Crews to get Sixteen Barges to compete so fair play, and as it happened had very little bearing on the overall result.

I felt for our skipper on the Lady Daphne as the day before we had sailed down the Thames in front of Cambria and was maintaining our lead, giving us all optimism for the race. We struggled with the tide and along with Decima made several attempts to get round the outer mark but were given the nod by the committee to turn where we were.

Whilst we were trying we had an excellent view of the barges heading back up the river in hot pursuit of the Edme. Lady of the Lea looked to be going extremely well and shot by the Cambria whom had clearly ran aground and was stuck for nearly half an hour. I admit I was a little disappointed wanting as always for the Cambria to do well.

We on the Lady Daphne entered into our own private race with Decima as we headed for Erith, with Decima leading until just before the Dartford Bridge. We could see the other barges way ahead of us with only the Centaur behind. Our skipper pulled off a smart bit of sailing and got us ahead of Decima and we stayed ahead until we crossed the finish line.

There were hundreds of spectators on Erith pier to cheer the barges home. I received a phone call to tell me that Cambria was the third barge back behind Edme and Xylonite, much to my surprise. It was a privilege to cross the line and see the barges moored up off Erith in a sight sadly now resigned to historic barge books.

The match for the purist will not go down as a classic but for the romanticists and enthusiast it was a very special day and well done to everybody who made it possible especially Mark Boyle and including the Committee, Erith Yacht Club, Barge Owners/Skippers and Crews and every body watching.”

Dave has since informed me that the Prizes were given out by none other than Robin Knox Johnson.

Thanks for that, Dave.

Movements update

June 18, 2013 / / 0 Comments

Cambria drifts aft from Gillingham Pier on the dolly line. Picture by Dave Brooks.

The following update on Cambria’s movements comes from Dave Brooks. We must also thank Dave for this lovely pic of Cambria leaving Gillingham Pier under sail power. The barge is here being allowed to drift aft on the tide while the dolly line, controlled by those new-start sail trainees from Rotary Club, keep the bow on station. When the bow has cleared the pier and the tops’l simultaneously set, the line is let go at the Pier and reeled in and the bow drops to starb’d to let the sail fill with wind. The crew quickly brail out some mains’l and we are under way. The trainees have her under sail, partly by their own efforts, within seconds of casting off which is always a complete thrill for them, and is poetry in motion for anyone on the quayside.

Dave’s update reads, “We have just completed a series of successful Rotary charters and have also competed in and won our class in the Medway Barge Match. We have also experimented with a new berth at Gillingham Pier and it has been a great success. It is really something to watch the barge arrive and leave under sail. We are very fortunate to have an extremely good crew as it takes a lot of skill to do this in an engineless barge.

We are also very pleased to welcome our new third hand Reggie who has been learning the skills of barging from Skipper Ian and Mate Dennis and coming on really well. He is also a big hit with the kids on the Rotary charters.
Cambria will now be going off on her Sea Change Charter and she will be competing in the Gravesend to Pin Mill Passage Match next Saturday. She will also be competing in the 150th Thames Barge Match which has additional significance that it is the Mark Boyle Memorial Match who sadly died late last year. Mark was instrumental in the Thames Barge Match and also in the Cambria rebuild. The match is on the 13th July and can ben seen from Pier Road Gravesend and at the finish at Erith.
It is expected that Cambria will be at Pin Mill again on the 5/6th July to be prepared for the above race.
A few changes going ahead with Cambria’s programme. She was expected to be in the Colne Match but has not been able to get a charter. She will now be entering the 50th Southend Barge Match (25th Aug). The whole match can be viewed from the end of the pier. We may have limited space available for the match. We will also be entering Swale Barge Match (3rd Aug) will advise of spaces for this match as I have the information.

Will advise of further activity later”

Thanks for that and for the photo(s), Dave.

Latest Newsletter is Out

June 5, 2013 / / 0 Comments

Rotary Club Charter Briefing

Just to let you know that the latest version of our newsletter is ‘out’. This is May 2013 and contains some nice updates on what we’ve been at in winter work and the painting by my Oppo Richard Weekes PLUS a good article by Dave Brooks who was following the Medway Match from the Committee Boat (Medway Surveyor). I should possibly also bit this blog’s farewell to Capt. Roy Stanbrook who I got to know quite well when we moored at Gravesend, as his work had him at the PLA offices nearby. He has now stood down as a Trustee of the Cambria Trust as he has upped sticks and is now Harbour Master at Gibraltar. We’ll miss you and your superb sense of humour. Thank you very much for all your support of the barge during restoration and subsequently.

Thank you, also Dave B for this picture of the latest batch of Rotary Club sail trainees here moored at Gillingham Pier receiving their briefing from Skipper Richard Tichener and one of the Rotary Club officials prior to leaving the Pier under sail alone. Dave has more pictures of this, which I will post soon – the trainees love it because they are straight way into getting physical with the barge, in this case keeping our head as close to the pier as possible by winching a line to a bollard, while we drop sternward clear of the Pier.

Master Class

March 21, 2013 / / 0 Comments

Sail-maker Steve Hall helps rig the Cambria March 2013

The Cambria team were treated to a real master class in rigging over the weekend. The tops’l had been damaged at some point while the gear was down by, we believe, some careless use of an angle grinder by a quayside contractor using an angle grinder to cut away (perfectly useful!) old mooring chains. The shower of sparks had burned small holes in the sail cloth. With our gear still down, our Sail Maker, Steve Hall from North Sea Sails (Tollesbury) was booked to come down to patch a repair into the sails prior to heaving up.

Driving all the way from Essex, Steve decided to bring friend and fellow sail-maker, Jim Lawrence down to help him. I apologise for the pictures which make these barge-world VIPs look like soggy scarecrows, dressed as they were in wet weather gear as befit the day, but apparently they all had a brilliant time and were treated to a master class in rigging, sail repairing and heaving up by the visitors. Jim apparently kept up his usual flow of anecdotes and chatter, both the guys were stitching at one stage and we even had Jim on the windlass helping to heave up. We are honoured humbled and delighted.

Thank you Jimmy and Steve, Thank You Skipper Ian Ruffles and Mate Denis Johnson, and I have also seen Basil in other pictures from this set which were taken by (Thank You, too) Dave Brooks.

Former Barge Skipper Jimmy Lawrence aboard Cambria