Tag: Faversham Creek Trust

Tom Browning (Apprentice Part 3)

Tom Browning

Tom Browning, Shipwright Apprentice, photographer unknown.

As the barge comes to the end of her stay in St Kat’s and tonight, locks out bound back to Gillingham Pier and her duties as charter-vessel for the Rotary Club sponsored Respite for Young Carers, a nice email has come my way from Faversham Creek Trust. Faversham Creek Trust, you will know, are setting up a new Apprentice Training Workshop in the former (gas) Purifyer Building on Faversham Creek, in the back of the Morrison’s Carpark.

Their website at http://favershamcreektrust.com/ has news that “Sailing Barge Centaur, owned and managed by the Thames Sailing Barge Trust will benefit from a £100,000 Lottery Heritage Funded refit in Tim Goldsack’s dry dock at Oare Creek. She will be worked on over the next few months by a team of local craftsmen which includes the Faversham Creek Trust’s first apprentice, Tom Browning.

Tom, achieved his level 2 apprenticeship with Simon Grillet, during the Cambria restoration at Standard Quay, in 2011. He will commence his level three training through work experience on the Centaur, combined with technical training at the Purifier Building.

The Trust are delighted to support the Thames Barge Sailing Trust in their restoration and outreach programmes, that do so much to keep alive our local maritime traditions, and this is exactly the type of job that we want apprentices to be involved with”.

Nice one, FCT and it is brilliant to know that ‘our’ Tom is carrying on with you guys and on the barges. One of my favourite pics of the Cambria restoration is the one which has been used in brochures etc, of Tim Goldsack and Tom sighting down the port wale of the part-built Cambria – it just says it all to me about the training up of young lads, keeping these old traditional skills alive down the generations as well as the amount of ship-wright-ery which is ‘by eye’. Unfortunately I cannot now find a copy of that pic (which was not one of mine, I should add) so this rather poor one of Tom will have to suffice. Simon Grillet, I know, at the time was hard at work on the Morayshire, and I would love to know whether that panned out OK.

 

All the best Tom, Tim, Simon and the Faversham Creek Trust.

 

Purifier’s Progress

Future barge loading/unloading door in Faversham's Purifier Building

Future barge loading/unloading door in Faversham’s Purifier Building; Picture from Faversham Creek Trust’s website.

In what is now becoming known as Purifier’s Progress, the Faversham Creek Trust website has the latest progress report on the renovation of Faversham Creek’s old Purifier Building (off the Morrison’s car-park) for their Maritime Trades and Apprentice Training centre. This is on http://favershamcreektrust.com/2012/11/10/purifiers-progress/ to which you can easily subscribe by clicking on links in the website. Today, fascinatingly they have the return to Faversham of old friend, owner of SB Westmoreland and former Standard Quay workshop tenant, Colin Frake.

“The East Wing roof is complete”, says the website, “and now work starts on the South Wing roof which is a lengthier and more complex operation and hence much more costly; all the existing slates must be carefully removed to minimise damage and reduce replacement costs. The East Wing [sounds grand doesn’t it?]  interior is being painted ready for Colin Frake to inhabit for his block making business. The roof has to be insulated inside by a sprayed on material, and all the services installed. Check out the link to Colin Frake’s website to see what he makes”.

Excitingly, the report also shows “the waterside of the building showing the doorway that will eventually be opened up for access for materials to and from a barge”. See our picture. This has got to be the only building converted to allow sailing barge loading/unloading for decades anywhere, I would have thought.

A Bridge Too Far

Mast at Night

Mast at Night; Picture by Matt Care

Oh Dear. It seems that Faversham’s Swing Bridge is in need of repair or replacement and this has rather snookered the plans of Faversham Creek Trust to get the basin (upstream from the bridge) dredged and opened up for larger vessels as part of the campaign to give the area back its Maritime Trades. Faversham Council tell us that the repairs or replacement could be as long as 5 years away, so Faversham Creek Trust have had to park their plans to restore the Purifier Building as a centre for workshops and shipwright appenticeships. So says Faversham Creek Trust in their newsy website at http://favershamcreektrust.com/2012/10/21/trouble-at-bridge-but-there-is-a-way-forward/ .

Trust Chair, Griselda Cann-Mussett is quoted as saying “we have done some research into this and we know that a new lifting bridge could be supplied and fitted for a relatively modest cost”, so hopefully all is not lost.

The Trust AGM takes place in the Alexander Centre at 7:30 pm on Tuesday November 20th. I expect the bridge will feature high in discussions!

Sad Tale

Repertor turns

Repertor manages a 180 degree turn in Faversham Creek following dredging works. Picture by Mike Maloney on Faversham Creek Trust’s website.

Faversham Creek Trust carry a rather sad tale in their report on http://favershamcreektrust.com/author/favershamcreektrust/ for September 4th, that of SB Repertor leaving the Creek for good after 40 years of having Faversham as it’s home moorings, pushed out, says owner David Pollock, by two whopping mooring rate increases. Repertor has moored there for 26 years under David’s ownership and for 14 years prior to that, and was a regular there all the time we were rebuilding the Cambria under our polytunnel. We have frequently been moored next to Repertor since. Dave Pollock says, in the Creek Trust Article that his mooring rates were increased by landlord Michael White by 70% since last year and that this had already gone up by 40% since the year before. In the interest of fairness I must say that Michael White has stated that rates have not changed since June of last year but that early payers get a discount and (Repertor) may have got this discount. I’m steering clear of that argument so I’ll let you read the article and you can pick the bones out of that yourself. It is unarguably a shame for the Creek, however that Repertor is moving to London and must be galling for the Creek Trust who featured Repertor turning round in the newly widened and dredged creek only recently and are making such good progress on the Purifier Building and the Sluices and Swing Bridge.

Meanwhile in a much happier mood, Sea Change Sailing Trust have produced a lovely long article on their website detailing the season they have had with Cambria, on http://www.seachangesailingtrust.org.uk/?p=2541 . This covers all the stuff around the Thames Match and then carrying the cargoes of beer and of the cement products. Do read it and tell them how much you have enjoyed it.

New Roof!

Good progress on the Purifier Building on Faversham Creek, new home for a Maritime Trades Apprenticeship scheme and workshop, organised by the Faversham Creek Trust, whose website today carries a picture of the new roof. This is, I think, the old metal frames of the old roof taken down, restored and repaired, then re-installed and a new skin put on.

New roof on

New roof on the Purifier building in Faversham, photo buy the Faversham Creek Trust.

There is a nice comment from one Chris Marshall which reads “I can’t help being impressed by how much progress is being made in renovating the Purifier Building. It is also becoming apparent what a handsome building it is now that the windows have been unblocked. Keep up the good work!”. We quite agree, CM!

Meanwhile, good luck to all the barges competing in the Swale Match today. If you are a Facebook-er like we are, look up Faversham’s ace photographer, artist and organiser of the 365 Year-in-the-Life picture exhibitions, Nathalie Banaigs, who has some superbly atmospheric early morning pictures from Harty Ferry where she was dropping off some friends to join their barge for the race. They are pictured wading out through a flat calm in beautiful pale grey light, with them and the withies and boats all creating striking reflections. Lovely pictures, Nathalie. You don’t always need red sails to make a good ‘barge’ picture.

Up the Creek

As promised, a report from Boss of Volunteers, Basil on our involvement in the Faversham Nautical Festival last weekend.

 

Faversham Nautical Festival

Faversham Nautical Festival, Pic by Dave Brooks. Cambria Stand is green tent above bowsprit.

Says Basil, “This weekend just gone, we were at the Faversham Basin Festival of Sail, where Faversham
Creek Trust were the main fundraisers –  There were a couple of visitors to Cambria
corner who were remembering (Mr Volunteer Views) fondly, and regretting your move to Ireland,
but very delighted when they knew that you sort out the website from afar (didn’t know them, and too slow to get names).   The musical accompaniment to
proceedings was fantastic and much enjoyed by all comers. SB Lady of the Lea
was visited by a constant stream of people in all age groups, the Creek
Trust appeared to collect many new members which must have made their
efforts all worthwhile. Bangers and burgers were available along with a flow
of beers.  We were there to sort of join up the Apprenticeship scheme since
it started via Cambria, and should continue in the Purifier Building,
hopefully. We were very cordially treated. Dave Walsh and
Catherine de Bont were around. She had brought her boat up to join many
others in the Creek.
It was mentioned to me by several people how Medway Ports has become
involved with the Lock Gate, and I pointed out to them that it was project
manager William Collard who initiated this action.”

Basil reminds us that “next week we’re on the pontoon at Gravesend.”

Thanks for that, Basil and thanks to the people who remembered me.  The picture is by Dave Brooks. The Cambria stand is the green gazebo behind the bowsprit.

Three Updates

Hilary Halajko for “Cambria Watch” reports that “Our delivery to the Railway Tavern at Brightlingsea completed, our next passage is to Halfpenny Pier at Harwich with a delivery for the New Bell”

Purifier Building. Restoring iron window frames; Picture from Faversham Creek Trust websiteFaversham Creek Trust report good progress on the Purifier Building (on the Creekside, currently being restored for use as a workshop and Apprentice Training Centre for the maritime trades). Their post on 14th July, which includes this picture says, “You may have seen scaffolding up but you may not have realised that it goes around the corner, over the water. This all about renovating the cast iron window frames, pointing where necessary, and opening up windows that have been bricked up from the inside.

Temporary polycarbonate glazing is being used to let light in, until the frames can be properly glazed.  Some of the cast iron frames have to be repaired, with new sections fabricated, all the original very hard putty knocked out, then primed and painted. (It is) Hard work chipping and grinding”

Last but by no means least, our friends the ‘Barge Blog’, on http://sailingbarges.wordpress.com/ are reporting that one of their contributors, a certain Ryan Dale, has found a spritsail rig in Italy. Ryan provided them with the link http://www.caravanstage.org/description.htm and added the following description of “The Caravan Stage Company which performs on the deck of a 30 metre tall ship as the Caravan Stage Tall Ship Theatre.   The boat, the Amara Zee, is based on the traditional design of a Thames Sailing Barge, and has the best of contemporary marine and theatre technology. With its shallow draft of 1.2 metres and its self-lowering masts via on-deck winches the boat can access virtually any waterfront community.  The Amara Zee uses the masts and rigging for the scenery, light and sound equipment and special effects.   The shows are staged on the entire deck, on the masts and rigging, on the water and land surrounding the vessel with the audience sitting on the shore.” There’s more, but I’ll let you nip off to Barge Blog if you fancy that.

Creek Trust Website

Faversham Creek Gut Way ploughed by Medway Ports; Photo by Faversham Creek Trust

Faversham Creek Gut Way ploughed by Medway Ports; Photo by Faversham Creek Trust

Faversham Creek Trust are now motoring well in their drives to get the Creek back open and to do up the creek-side Purifier building as an apprentice training facility cum workshop. They have published this significant picture of the main gut-way of the creek (below the swing bridge) after Medway Ports engineers had dragged something called a “plough” straight down the length of it to create a straight channel down which the muddy silty stuff from the basin and swing-bridge operations could make it’s fast exit seaward without stopping at Standard Quay or Iron Wharf for a rest. They have also published pictures of the engineers down at the base of the swing bridge sluices with huge backward “Vax” hoover-style pumps stirring up the accumulated silt round the gates so that the gates could open and close. More recently I have also seen some nice pics of the Purifier windows being opened up again to let the light in, where they’d been boarded and bricked up to stop vandalism and squatters while the building was basically abandoned. All this is on the lovely Faversham Creek Trust website on http://favershamcreektrust.com/ where you can also read all the other news stories and sign up to be emailed the latest news.

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