Tag: Hilary Halajko (Page 2 of 2)

Ye Olde Albion Pub

July 18, 2012 / / 0 Comments

Today’s “Cambria Watch” posting from Hilary Halajko has “all went well with the beer delivery to ‘Ye Olde Albion Pub’ at Rowhedge. They are leaving at highwater tonight and will night sail to Harwich arriving early morning sunrise.” The pub seems like a nice place, with a very pretty website at http://www.google.ie/search?rlz=1C1DVCH_enGB423&aq=f&sugexp=chrome,mod=13&sourceid=chrome&ie=UTF-8&q=Ye+Olde+Albion+Pub+Rowhedge

as well as a Facebook presence. Rowhedge is part of Colchester and the pub, as well as being on the River Colne, is on the High Street at High Street Colchester, Essex CO5 7ES, United Kingdom
Phone 01206 728 972

Niagara’s back….

July 16, 2012 / / 0 Comments

On “Cambria Watch” today with Hilary Halajko as ‘Kate Humble’, Hilary reports that Cambria left Brightlingsea bound for Harwich fine, but the pub were not ready for the delivery as they were awaiting a horse and cart. Therefore the crew had to sail Cambria back to the Colne and Pyfleet. This was a cracking sail in which Hilary described the Cambria as “going like a train”. Our Generator room is proving to be a useful drying area after a very wet day. Tomorrow we have a short sail up the Colne to Arlesford to await a tow to Rowhedge on Tuesday for a delivery to the Albion Pub. The Crew are all enjoying a curry this (Sunday) evening”.

I love that a Sailing barge struggles in to make the tide and then gets held up because there are no horse and carts available to unload! As Dave Brooks suggested wryly, “It might be taking authenticity too far”

Dave notes that he “ may have missed all the Cambria fun in Maldon but I did see a first for many a long year. Sails set on the Niagara. Fores’l and Main getting an airing. Niagara will be underway this season”. Dave supplies today’s picture. Tomorrow he will attempt to better his current world record number of barges seen and mentioned in a single blog post as well as attempting at the same time to out-do us all in number of barges in one photograph. Will he make it? A whole readership holds its breath……..`

Three Updates

July 15, 2012 / / 0 Comments

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”

Faversham 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.

Mighty Oak Brewing

July 11, 2012 / / 0 Comments

Mighty Oak Brewing banner; Picture by Annie Meadows of SB Kitty

Cambria turns dray-man! For a bit of fun, Sea Change Sailing Trust have linked up with Mighty Oak Brewing, the brewers of the “Captain Bob” brand of beer, which we have featured on this blog previously to make some deliveries from Maldon to coastal and waterways pubs. Annie Meadows of SB Kitty fame has managed to capture the spirit of the event in this picture which shows a superb banner created to link the Cambria Trust, Sea Change and Mighty Oak. Excellent banner, guys! In “Cambria Watch” meanwhile, Hilary Halajko is experiencing internet problems (Bob Roberts never complained of that, Hilary!) so is reduced to texting. “Into Maldon with Cambria this evening for victualling and tomorrow for loading ale from Mighty Oak for distribution to some of their coastal outlets over the next week or two. This is part of our first extended YSS voyage on the east coast this summer.
We will also be carrying in depth information courtesy of Drinkaware to ensure a balanced view.” Richard Tichener, I know, keeps a ‘dry’ ship, so don’t go thinking all this beer will be drunk by the crew en route. Dave Brooks adds “Cambria continues her tour of the East Coast with our friends from Sea Change. Hilary reports that loading went well. (Captain Bob Beer from the Mighty Oak Brewery). They are leaving Maldon tomorrow at 7am and are bound for Brightlingsea.”

Fair winds, Cambria!

Cambria Watch!

July 10, 2012 / / 2 Comments

This is rather fun. Cambria is currently off on Charter with the Sea Change Sailing Trust (see also our link from the ‘Useful Links’ tab on this website) which would normally mean that we volunteers would stop hearing about her for a while. But this time, First Mate Hilary Halajko has agreed with Dave B that she will text progress reports when she gets a few minutes in what are generally very long busy days training and keeping safe all those enthusiastic young trainees. It’s good that this has happened ‘this time’ because this is to be quite an exciting and varied trip what with trying to do beer deliveries and to re-enact Cambria’s final cargo shipment.

So, we have already had a text from Hilary saying “Cambria underweigh at just after 4am…ugh!. (Gillingham Pier). 8 gybes to get out of the Medway, gave us a taste for bacon rolls! A fetch all the way to the knoll, 4 tack to bring up in Pyefleet at 12.15pm. Skipper won the sweepstake for nearest time to arrival. Up to Maldon tomorrow afternoon tide. Crew damp and tired but happy.” Dave B adds, “Cambria left Gillingham this morning at 4 am and arrived in Pyefleet at 12.15. She is off up to Maldon on tomorrow afternoon’s tide”. Thanks for the update, Hilary.

Thames Match Tankard 1963; Picture by Nick Ardley

We have also had a nice email from Friend of Cambria and Barge and Sailing book author, Nick Ardley who sent us this nice picture of a 1963 Thames Match Pewter tankard. Nick, who grew up as a boy on May Flower says “I was helping my mother to sort through ‘stuff’. She gave me this little pewter tankard. It is from the last commercial era sailing match on the Thames, dated 17th June – that would have been a Tuesday: the Medway was on the Thursday. Those matches took place during the normal working week meaning us kids on May Flower had to have time off school.

I wonder if any other of these tankards have survived – they were presented to participating barge skippers”.

Nick notes that he “Hasn’t seen Cambria for a while. (He has) seen loads of barges around the Pin Mill area: Edith May winning the passage match and Faversham’s Mirosa stamping her authority on the EDME! Oh yes, Repertor (beaten squarely by the Edith May) fending off the Melissa too…

Hope all is well…” says Nick. Well, thanks for that Nick and, as you can see, all is well and Cambria is headed your way with a new group of trainees aboard. I’ll tell them to look out for the creamy coloured, wooden clinker hull of Whimbrel, shall I?