Tag: Maldon

Sea Change’s Last 2013 Cambria Outing

September 3, 2013 / / 0 Comments

Cambria under Full Sail in the 2013 Southend Match, picture taken from, we think, Pudge

We were passed this superb picture of Cambria going like a train with all sails beautifully set by Richard, Hilary, Stretch and the Sea Change Crew. The picture is taken from, we believe, SB Pudge and comes from the Thames Sailing Barge Trust. Hilary tells us that they had a bit of fun but didn’t do so well this time. Posting on the 27th, she said, “Currently anchored at West Mersea. Had a blast at the Southend match and a very creditable 3rd place in the bowsprit class as no other coasting barges present. Underway yesterday at 5pm tacking all the way to the Spitway and anchored in the fog here at 2 am! 3 handed was fun apart from winding up 2 shackles of chain against the wind and tide! Up to Maldon today possibly a visit to the Queens Head our HQ this evening!”

All good things must come to an end, and Sea Change are now on their final 2013 charter on Cambria, though they stress that Sea Change carries on on the SB Reminder all through September and October and into early November. Hilary again. “Last Cambria trip of the year for Sea Change. Maldon to St Kats. A fair wind away from the quay so no towing charges today! beautiful sunshine, I feel a BBQ coming on and maybe a bit of swimming?”

Thank you so much to the Sea Change team for looking after and using our old girl. We are proud to be part of your good works. It is brilliant that this vessel is used to do so much good. I thank Hilary too for all the Cambria Watch write-ups.

Dave Brooks reminds us all that, “The Cambria Trust are excited to announce that Cambria will be attending the Classic Boat Festival at St Katharine’s Dock London. She will be open to the public and trust members will be on hand to guide and answer your questions. Dates 7th to the 15th Sept.”

The early part of that includes me, your blogger, so that this may be the final post from me till I get back to Ireland. Maybe I will see you on board?

An Outright Win and Hilary’s on the case

July 7, 2013 / / 1 Comment

After my last post in which we drew attention to the tracking software, you may know that on that day, on the Passage Match 2013, Cambria, with Richard Tichener as Skipper and Hilary Halajko as First Mate (Cambria is back in the hands of the Sea Change Sailing Trust), recorded another heroic Outright Win.

Also, you may recall from last year that when Hilary is in the chair, this blog gets well supplied with Cambria Updates, for which many thanks, Hilary.

Passage Match 2013; Picture by Dave Brooks

The first of these is up on Facebook today and reads, “Update from sea change on Cambria. It’s been a very busy few days, we left Maldon on Wednesday evening with a fair wind so no need for a tug. A gentle sail to anchor just below the doubles and then underway Thursday morning bound for Pin Mill. A lovely sail, 7 hours from Maldon to anchor just below the SBA buoy. As we approached Harwich Harbour, Reminder was coming out of the backwaters and Mirosa getting underway from the Stour. So a lovely sight for anyone watching. We were able to launch the topper dingy and along with a rowing the barge boat everyone spent a pleasant hour or so in the setting sun with Mirosa anchored above us and Reminder above her.Those brave enough went for a swim, jumping off the bowsprit, that’s the easy bit, getting back aboard not quite so easy!!
On Friday Gus came to tow us to the blocks, no wind which made it easy to get there. Then 2 days of pressure washing, scrubbing, and anti fouling and boy did she need it, she was absolutely covered in barnacles!! The upside of being on the blocks is that we eat out in the Butt and Oyster!!
This morning Jonathan came to tow us off the blocks and down to the clamp house. A stiff sea breeze made it very difficult to pull her off and in the end we needed the barge boat and outboard alongside to make any headway. At the point when Jonathan shouted that his engine was overheating we already had the main and kedge anchors ready!!! we didn’t make it as far as the clamp house but were able to anchor in a spot where we could sail away before Jonathan’s boat finally packed up!! Bright sunshine a great breeze and tacking down against all those people who were sailing back up to return to work tomorrow, lucky us! We are now anchored just above Shotley Marina getting ready to go ashore for a BBQ , We are the luckiest people in the world right now!!”

We are green with envy, Hilary! What a way to earn a living!

Sea Change Trust on FB

August 21, 2012 / / 0 Comments

This morning my post is a direct lift from today’s posting by the Sea Change Sailing Trust’s Facebook page.

In their own words, ”

Reminder and Cambria at Maldon, Picture by Sea Change Sailing Trust.

A reflection of Sea-Change’s training influence afloat with the groups of young people with whom it works could not have been better demonstrated than today. The charity is currently keeping two barges busy, its regular sailing barge Reminder, built in 1929 and the mighty engine-less Cambria of 1906, which slipped from Maldon together on this afternoon’s tide. Reminder warped alongside Cambria to pull her away from Maldon’s Hythe Quay in light airs. Parting and setting sail a mile down river off Heybridge Basin, only Cambria’s stern could be seen by those following by the time she bore away at the end of Collier’s Reach. This is testament to the significance of her heritage after 106 years entirely under sail and a clear demonstration of wind as an ongoing power source for the future, despite today’s gentle conditions. One of Sea-Change’s aims is to train young sailors, many of whom return independently after initially sailing as members of support groups, in traditional sea-going skills. These young people will enable working sailing vessels to survive into the future, both to their benefit and other young people’s, to the vessel’s and country’s heritage and to the environment”.

by: Sea-Change Sailing Trust

You can also link to this site using our “Useful links” tab. SCST are currently the most frequent ‘users’ of Cambria and their work with her is brilliant and we are really proud to be part of it. Go Richard Tichener, Hilary Halajko, ‘Stretch’ and the rest of the Team!

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?

Adventure Ahoy!

July 9, 2012 / / 0 Comments

Seachange boat, pic by Dave Brooks

Dave B reports some exciting new plans for Cambria. “So,” says Dave, “Sea Change head off to take Cambria up the East Coast and an exciting period that will include the Thames and Colne Barge Matches, and two cargo trips, one to deliver Captain Bob beer to several pubs, and the other to re-enact Cambria’s last cargo from Tilbury to Ipswich.” Have a great time guys, look after the old girl. We hope to see you somewhere along the line. First Mate Hilary Halajko has promised to keep us abreast of progress. “So off we go for a week on the smack, then 4 weeks on Cambria”, she comments, “There is no time off for good behaviour! Our first port of call will be Maldon to collect beer for delivering engineless to various pubs around the coast. It could be fun and it could take a long time!” Today’s picture is one of Dave B’s, showing Skipper Richard Tichener, First Mate Hilary Halajko and one of the trainees heading out to Cambria.

Meanwhile there is movement and maybe some new hope on the sorry tale of SB Ena, currently languishing like Cambria in 2007. One Laura Chown reports “What fantastic news, a Suffolk based family have bought ENA and saved her. Hopefully she will soon be back on the Orwell where she belongs”. There is, of course, an ENA page on Facebook which has been running as a focal point for efforts to restore ENA. This has “”ENA” is a Thames sailing barge, the barge was built in 1906 in Harwich by W.B McLearon and bought by R & W Paul Ltd in Ipswich where she spent her working life. When road transport took over the transportation of the company’s products she was transferred to the Sports and Social Club of Pauls & Whites in 1974 and re rigged as a mule barge.
As a young man”, says the writer, Olly, (sorry, surname unknown. I will try to find out) I spent many a happy hour on Ena and have some very happy memories of my Father carrying out maintenance on the engine!
The reason for setting up this web page is that Ena is in very poor condition and is up for sale, what i would like to do is to get people involved in setting up a charity to enable the barge to be saved restored and once again sailed in her former glory ! This will be an enormous project and will be a lot of hard work but the end result will be amazing and will also mean that another historic barge has been saved from a very uncertain future, so if you are not scared of hard work either mental or physical then please get involved and lets bring Ena back to Ipswich where she belongs.” Laura tells me “Her home is on the Orwell. We just can’t wait to see her back here but we are not sure how easy she will be to move.” We are rooting for you, the ENA team.

Half sized barge Rosie Probert, Picture by Dave Brooks

Captain Cat’s Deceased Lover?

July 1, 2012 / / 2 Comments

Ace ferretter out of bizarre barge stories, Dave B, publishes this picture of the spritsail rigged barge Rosie Probert moored in Ipswich (Dave and Mrs B are up there for the Pin Mill match) and asks “Does anyone know anything about her?”

Half sized barge Rosie Probert, Picture by Dave Brooks

I went on a little internet scurry and was only able to find the following, which is probably not a very good answer (so if anyone out there knows any more, please pile in).

You can buy a 6 by 4 inch picture of her on ebay at http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/rp5607-UK-Sailing-Barge-Rosie-Probert-Photo-6×4-/390426304421?pt=UK_Collectables_Postcards_MJ&hash=item5ae7389fa5#ht_2541wt_905

Rosie Probert is actually a character from Dylan Thomas’s poem, Under Milk Wood, where (so Wikipedia tells me on http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Under_Milk_Wood) , she is “Captain Cat’s deceased lover, who appears in his dreams.” We are told that “During dinner, Mr. Pugh imagines poisoning Mrs. Pugh. Mrs. Organ-Morgan shares the day’s gossip with her husband, but his only interest is the organ. The audience sees a glimpse of Lord Cut-Glass’s insanity in his “kitchen full of time”. Captain Cat dreams of his lost lover, Rosie Probert, but weeps as he remembers that she will not be with him again. Nogood Boyo fishes in the bay, dreaming of Mrs. Dai Bread Two and geishas.” There you are – culture already!

I also found this in the “Maldon Little Ships Club Newsletter” at http://new.mlsc.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2011/01/MLSCNewsletterNov10.pdf . On page 10/11 Di and John Rogers describing an East Coast Cruise say “John and Di went to the top of Orford castle with its splendid views across to Orfordness with its strange wartime pagoda like buildings. Whilst looking upstream towards Aldeburgh we even spotted my brother’s “half size” barge Rosie Probert coming down the Alde from Snape. We managed to book a meal in the famous Butley Oysterage and then John Boyce decided that it was time for afternoon tea……” and so on.