Tag: Nick Ardley (Page 1 of 2)

Barnacles, Fish and Chips

It’s not all sailing around in the warm sunshine enjoying yourself, even when you are a volunteer, unpaid, sail trainee with Sea Change. We don’t want to be spoiling them now, do we?

 

Barnacles

Barnacles scraping, Zeb and Ben take one for the team; Picture by Hilary Halajko.

Hilary sends two trainees, Zeb and Ben down under to scrape the barnacles off while Cambria is up on Pin Mill Blocks. Good job lads! At least they have these very nice roller trolleys to lie on to keep them up out of the worst muck. I say ‘worst’ – I’ve done this job and no matter how careful you are, you always get some of the debris on yourself.

As Hilary says, “Zeb and Ben hoe off barnacles from Cambria on Pin Mill Hard using the Webb Brothers’ patent wheeled trollies”

Hilary, yesterday, also has this Cambria Update.

“A cracking sail from the Stour to Brightlingsea today. Hard work on the wheel and the foredeck busy with rolling vangs, but just the one gybe. A small crew allows everyone to get real hands on experience. All a bit sun burnt but happy (and tired) a row up the creek for fish and chips soon (no we’re not allowed to use the outboard!!) A fair wind back down the creek though!”

Our good friend Nick Ardley responds with “Wonderful… Fish & Chips eh, whatever is the barging world coming to … boiled pots and a bit of ham knuckle was good fare once…!! Well done SCST crew and good luck at the weekend.” Hey Nick. Should we tell them about your plush new carpets in Whimbrel? OK. Maybe not.

Finally from Hilary, “Our Youth Sailing Scheme is working hard to make Cambria match ready for the weekend. Why? here’s why” and she posts a good link to a story about the Ship Owners P+I Club decision to sponsor the 150th Thames (Mark Boyle Memorial) Match this year – details on….

 

http://isiscommunications.co.uk/2013/07/08/shipowners-pi-club-sponsors-thames-sailing-barge-match-in-its-150th-year/

Thank you for all that and for all the comments now coming in to the website.

 

Thames Heritage Alliance

Denis Waving

Denis Waving; picture by Nick Ardley, May B/Hol 2013

I am happy to publish the following concerning new organisation, the Thames Heritage Alliance and to insert a link to this website in our useful links tab. This notice comes from Griselda Cann-Mussett, friend of Cambria and prime mover in the Faversham Creek Trust.

 

Griselda writes, “I’d like to draw your attention to https://thamesheritagealliance.wordpress.com/which is a website I have set up in conjunction with Dido Berkeley, who as you probably know is a life-long campaigner for the River Thames.
She is hoping to muster widespread support for her idea that the Thames needs a statutory body to represent it in all planning decisions. No-one does that, at the moment, while the developmental pressures continue to build – all land-based, and no-one thinking about maritime interests, biodiversity, flood and fresh-water control, etc.
We are looking for organisations willing to appear as links, and to link back to the website. Ultimately she is looking for a wide range of organisations such as the Tower of London, National Maritime Museum, etc. but it would be wonderful to have Cambria, the Sailing Barge Trust, the Tall Ships, Sail Training Association, and Essex boatyards and quays etc all joining up to show support.
I’d love to hear your comments!
thanks
Griselda
Thames Heritage Alliance
thamesheritagealliance.wordpress.com

 

Thank you for that Griselda – we are happy to help.

Today’s excellent picture comes from another friend of Cambria, Barge-book author Nick Ardley and is taken from his own clinker-hull sloop, Whimbrel. Our crew were all waving at him, he says – he thinks this is First Mate Denis up near the port bow. There, Denis – you can run away to sea but you still won’t escape from the website spies!

Date for the Diary

Nick Ardley Westmoreland at Otterham

Westmoreland at Otterham Quay. Picture by Nick Ardley

An important date for the diary from our friend Nick Ardley, who also supplies today picture of the barge Westmoreland at Otterham Quay. Says Nick,

“This is from Geoff Gransden of Edith May fame. I was asking about where ‘they’ were with the Westmoreland. He tells me: “We are in the process of forming the Westmoreland Trust CIC and we are holding a presentation in the village hall on the 12th April 19.30 to keep the villagers (in Lower Halstow) and other interested people informed. A few hurdles to cross, but hopefully it is coming together now.”

The village hall in Lower Halstow is off the main road running through the sleepy creek side settlement and is sign posted… Picture attached of the dear old thing in her lighter berthed in Otterham Creek, Upchurch, and soon, hopefully, to be on the move…”
Thanks for that Nick and for the photograph.

A Chunk of Montreal

I get a nice email in from barge book and sailing book author, friend of the Cambria, Nick Ardley. He’s been out exploring the foreshores again and has come across a chunk of the barge, SB Montreal. Nick Takes up the story. Picture is from Nick.

Montreal bow badge

Montreal bow badge found by Nick Ardley; Picture by Nick.

“A little something for you… I was walking (with ‘the Mate’*) between Tilbury Fort and Coal House Fort along the Thames shore last weekend and came across a barge’s ‘badge’ sitting up on the tide line near Tilbury power station. It looked familiar – I photographed it, of course.

Comparing the badge pictures with pictures of the badges that were on the Montreal, now broken up at Erith, it is clear it has come from her. It is possible to see the tip of the arrow head on the carved yellow line. Looking at my pictures (from Nigel Field a member of the Erith YC) it is clear that the badge was from her starboard bow.
If anyone wants the badge it sits about mid distance from turn of wall by West Tilbury Creek and the power station’s jetty. It is up high, but tides are coming towards springs … so it might go wandering about.”
*For those not familiar with Nick’s writings of his meanderings on the good ship ‘Whimbrel’, ‘the Mate’ is how he describes his Good Lady when she is crewing the boat and keeping him out of mischief. Nick tells me that his sailing season has been relatively good to them on Whimbrel so far this year … they have been out a dozen times for some lazy (cold), gentle and exhilarating sails. ‘The Mate’ is now ‘retired’ so has done more during a tide than she has for many years… The boat has also been in a spot of filming. Nick invites us to go see this on his website at http://www.nickardley.com/
Thanks for all that, Nick, and good sailing. Regards to The Mate also. Get the bacon sandwiches on!

Topsail No 46

Deck Coffee

On Cambria’s Deck and enjoying a cup of coffee, Blogger Matt Care in September 2012; Pic by Matt Care.

It’s always a thrill when Topsail magazine (it’s more like a book these days!) arrives in the post, and my No 46, December 2012 arrives this morning – almost coinciding with the 12:12 12/12/12 moment which we were all alerted to by the local Radio station. This one is as good as ever and is , as always, choc-a-bloc full of interesting articles and nice pictures. For those who don’t know, it is one of two periodical publications by the Society for Sailing Barge Research and well worth subscribing to that organisation for.

This one is dominated by an 18 page article by Norma O’Keefe about the murder of the Skipper of SB Speranza in 1931 and has a lovely, well written, atmospheric piece by visiting Ozzie, Bruce Sibley who manages to schmooze his way aboard SB Venture for a voyage in the 50’s. In the latter case, the writer also took his camera aboard, so there are nice action pictures to go with it. The mag also has a sad tale of the sinking of house-boat barge SB Thursday as described by Skipper John Hone who, along with crew and cat were only just rescued in the nick of time.

For me, having navigated some of this waterway in a holiday narrow-boat, it was also interesting to read about the use of sailing barges on the Leeds and Liverpool Canal. Editor Richard Walsh reviews various new publications including a couple of great interest here, “The Cambria Story” by Robert Simper and recent book by our friend Nick Ardley, “The Jottings of a Thames Estuary Ditch-Crawler”. Richard also reviews the Video “Red Sails” by Mike Maloney of Countrywide Productions. “This is far and away the best ever modern film covering the history, present day and restoration scene,” says Richard, and I agree 100%. There is also an ad for the new Compendium which we ourselves reviewed in a recent post. Then as I flicked over the back cover, I thought I’d spotted a nice pic of Cambria – the familiar bowsprit, bow-badge scroll work and bob. Not quite! It is actually Everard’s SB Veronica on her way to winning the 1937 Thames Match. Perhaps you’ll forgive me the error as it’s the Season of Good Will?

 

Nick Ardley and the Docklands History Group

Friend of Cambria and barge and sailing book author, Nick Ardley emails with a tip off about a symposium being held by the Docklands History Group, called

“There She Blows!
Aspects of the London Whaling Trade”

This is an early warning and a date for your diary really, as it’s not till March 2013, but if you are interested then the link here should steer you home.

http://www.docklandshistorygroup.org.uk/events.html

“It’ll not be specifically about barges/their trade on Thames”, says Nick, “but barges surely carried whale oil products so it might be of interest to web readers”.

Those who know, or know of, Nick and his books will also know of his Mother, Gwen who features strongly (obviously) in “A Barging Childhood” but is now hanging up her shore-living, view-of-barge-out-of-the-window sea boots. As Nick puts it,

Gwen Ardley sailing Whimbrel

Gwen Ardley sailing Whimbrel; picture by Nick Ardley

“My mother departed the Medway’s shores last week to begin a new life at a warden flat in Devizes, Wiltshire. It was a sad event really: she has spent her entire life on and around the Thames and Medway, which included 30 years on the May Flower

My mother had a sail on Edith May shortly after rigging out back in May … and aptly … her last meal before the move was aboard that lovely barge. It was a glorious day and the sun sparkled. Evocatively, the barge’s reflections were mirrored on the calm spring tide that filled the dock, reminding her of days long gone…
Jane and Geoff Gransden, according to my youngest brother, Andrew, made a real fuss of her and they all enjoyed a bargeman’s stew. My mother is going to miss the dock and the barge… Bless her.
It is the end of an era, and sadly, for me, I really have left my ‘childhood home…’ It is a place I have visited so often, by land and water since growing up. Of course, I’ll still be sailing into the dock, that’s for sure, roll on 2013!”
Thanks for that, Nick, and I am sure everyone here with Cambria and all our readers will wish Gwen all the best in her land-locked future.

A Nice Chat.

Gay Archer at speed

MTB Gay Archer at speed, photo from David Archer who served on a sister vessel.

I have been enjoying a nice old ‘chin-wag’ via e-mail with friend of Cambria and occasional contributor, David Rye who turns out to have his own strong connections with the MTBs we mentioned yesterday. David sent me the attached picture of the ‘Gay class’ MTB Gay Archer and attaches the following notes.

Says David, “Nice shot of 102.

I was on MTB’s in the 50’s – the Gay class, Gay Fencer actually – good job we did not have cap tallies with the names on!
The Archer is down at Watchett, N.Devon.
Fully restored – the owner sold his house to do it!
Plenty of info on the internet all about her.”
Thanks for that, David. Perhaps we should say for the benefit of younger readers, that “Gay” has only fairly recently come to have the association with same-sex relationships. Prior to the 70’s ‘gay’ just meant happy,bright, exuberant and colourful. I love an ‘at speed’ photo of an MTB. Shows that beautiful hull off to best advantage.
David has also given me some more on the ‘Stone Heaps’ discussion from a few weeks back. Hilary Halajko had mentioned that Cambria had moored there overnight and Nick Ardley had entered a comment about the location and the origin of the name (see earlier posts). David now advises us to “take a look at the link, http://bernardoconnor.org.uk/Coprolites/Suffcops/SHOTLEY.htm , which says that “The earliest evidence of coprolite diggings in Shotley was in 1858. It was included in a list of nine Suffolk villages exporting the raw material for conversion into superphosphate in factories in Ipswich and Harwich…………Apart from digging fossils another unusual occupation that employed many in the parish was described in the local trade directory,  “Sea Boats are employed here in collecting stone for the manufacture of Roman Cement.” (White’s Directory 1874) This involved nodules of “septaria“, lumps of clay, which were dredged along the mouth of the estuary. Along with the local clay they formed the basis of a small cement industry. In 1871 Lucas C. King was described in the census as a “Farmer of 76 acres employing 4 labourers and 2 boys, Cement Stone Merchant employing 6 men.” This had been going on at least since the 1850s when many men described themselves as cement stone dredgers and loaders. By 1874 the Shotley Brick, Lime and Cement Works had started with Edward Gibbons as the manager. etc etc”  Feel free to go off and read more.
Thanks for that, too David.
Lastly (today) I must just say that I am going on “shore leave” for a few days now and may or may not be able to post. I will actually be based on the Cambria (Ah! Sigh!) at Gravesend, finally able to see her, walk her decks and re-new my acquaintance with all her timbers and tackle, not having seen her since Dec 9th last year. A group of volunteers, including me, will have her moored alongside St Andrew’s Wharf in Gravesend and, all being well, open to the public so please do feel free to come down and say ‘Hello’ to the old girl. After all, if you’ve ever bought a Lottery ticket she is, in a sense, your barge. We are just privileged to mind her for you! Look after yourselves and I will be back posting in a short few days.

 

 

 

Archive Video Southend Match 1964

Frequent contributor, Friend and barge/sailing book author Nick Ardley emails me this superb link saying “Just thought I’d email you this. There is a section of film of the 1964 Southend barge match on following web site:www.eafa.org.uk/catalogue/500 It can be found on the webs search facility if this doesn’t work.
What is interesting is all the ‘baggy’ sails, un-stretched stay sail luffs and hotch potch of repairs (May Flower – especially) and a sprinkling of new sails. Edith May doesn’t yet have her ‘Veronica’ spars: that came later – see, May Flower A Barging Childhood – her cross trees are in ‘correct’ place! The other thing is: Marjorie, May and Edith May are the only barges still sailing from that fleet. The May Flower was referred to as the May of 1888 in the intro! The stuff about May Flower taking time to get round first mark is all guff too: my father retired after being run down by the Venture … just prior to the start!
Enjoy.”
Today’s picture is a nice one of Dick Durham at the wheel of Cambria taken by Dave Brooks.
Dick Durham

Dick Durham, last mate of Cambria in trade, at the wheel. Picture by Dave Brooks.

Nick Ardley’s Swale

Barge and sailing book author and friend of the Cambria, Nick Ardley is first off the marks this time with his report and some superb pictures of the Swale Match yesterday. I publish here a love photo of Repertor and the newly restored barge Niagara crossing the line, borrowed from Nicks’s lovely website http://www.nickardley.com/ but I’ll leave it to you to nip across there and ‘read all about it’ and look through the excellent pictures. Nick generally takes his own sloop, Whimbrel out to go look at these matches, so he can position himself exactly where he wants and can get pictures you would never get from shore-based viewpoints. Nick grew up on the barge May Flower and has a life long love for and interest in all things barge and Suffolk/Essex/Kent sailing (he refers to it rather tongue-in-cheek, as ‘mud-larking’ and ‘ditch-crawling’) and if you’ve not yet caught up with his various books, they are well worth hunting down. Start your hunt on the website above.

Repertor and Niagara

Repertor and Niagara cross the line in the Swale Match 2012, picture from Nick Ardley’s website.

Meanwhile, Nick also chips in on the subject of the ‘stone heaps’ with a comment “The barge anchorage was not over the shingle spit running out from Shotley, but further into the Orwell close into the Shotley shore – almost opposite the Fagbury buoy. Unfortunately since the extension to the huge port on the Felixstowe shore the ‘mud’ has gone or been diminished by the channel running harder into what was a fine anchorage. I have seen barges using the ‘dead’ gound upstream of the port…
Th spit is not the Stone Heaps as far as I am aware, it is a natural geographical feature due to the run of two rivers. The name did refer to areas where ballast was dumped though – however ballast was mostly, latterly, landed ashore for re-use before ships had ballast water tanks…” Thanks for that clarification, Nick.

Cambria Watch!

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

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 areaEdith 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?
« Older posts

© 2024

Theme by Anders NorenUp ↑