Lowering Cambria's Gear

Lowering Cambria’s Gear; Still from a video taken by ‘Den Johnson’s Carol’

Something a bit different today! Mark Chapman has sent me a link to  video of the Cambria’s gear being lowered in Faversham’s Standard Quay a couple of weekends ago, Skippered by Ian Ruffles. If you’ve ever seen this process in action you’ll know it’s not a quick job, so the video is 13 and a half minutes long. We are not sure yet how to, or whether we can, embed video in this website so it’s been posted on that haven of cute kitten videos, You Tube. Click on the link  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sMcFsLWLGDM&feature=player_embedded. It was taken by Denis Johnson’s Carol, so thanks for that, Carol.  In Cambria’s case the gear, as lowered, is watched continuously to ensure the spreet and then the mainm’st and topm’st do not foul first the mizzen itself with its radio aerials etc, then the mizzen shrouds and boat davits and finally the wheelhouse. Obviously too, all its own stays and tackle have to be slacked off or manouvred accordingly. The spreet ends up sitting on the metal fairlead on the starb’d side of the saddle-chock (aft rail) and the mainm’st sits in a notch at the top of a thick plank stood on it’s end just aft of the main hold hatch. It’s a fascinating process to watch and even better to be part of. You might be able to get involved in this kind of thing if you join the Volunteers team. Thank you for the link Mark, and thank you again for the video, Carol.