Tag: Red Sails

Topsail No 46

December 12, 2012 / / 0 Comments

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?

Red Sails Beer

October 27, 2012 / / 0 Comments

Red Sails beer from Shepherd Neame; Picture from their Facebook timeline.

Go Shepherd Neame! They have just launched this Red Sails beer, publishing its picture on Facebook with the caption “Look out for ‘Red Sails’ at the Wetherspoon Beer Festival until Nov 11th http://instagr.am/p/RSflJ1TEsh/ ” The link will just take you to an on line image of the label.

I am a bit of a fan of Shep’s products and I remember that during the rebuild of the Cambria, I was on the viewing gallery when Jonathan Neame came aboard with some guests and I did our rebuild story ‘schpiel’ to him finishing a bit cheekily (and bravely – I was a bit awestruck by having him among my audience) by suggesting Shep’s do a beer called Cambria. Well, this is probably as close as we are going to get and depicts our great friends SB Greta but I wonder, given the name, whether Mike Maloney, of Red Sails film fame, had a hand in this?

Either way, I am spitting that I cannot be there to nip into a Wetherspoons and grab me a couple of bottles which I’d probably keep on the mantle-piece after I’d drained the contents.

Cheers Jonathan, Cheers Mike, Cheers Steve Norris and all aboard SB Greta tonight!

Red Sails showing in Ramsgate

October 18, 2012 / / 0 Comments

Red Sails Video, Image from shop pages of this website via Cathy Chapman.

Mike Maloney of Countrywide Productions, makers of the excellent “Red Sails” film featuring lots of Cambria footage and interviews with Master Shipwright Tim Goldsack and Rebuild Project Manager William Collard, among others, has emailed. He is letting us know that the film will be screened on Sunday week (28th Oct) as part of the Kent Coastal Week. The screening will be in the Custom House and Visitor Centre, Harbour Parade, Ramsgate, Kent, CT11 8LP at 2 p.m. on that date. More information is available on http://www.cwideprods.co.uk/red-sails/ where the writer notes that, “Red Sails is a documentary which explores through interviews and archive footage, the influence of the Thames Sailing Barge in the development of trade, and its contribution to the building of Victorian London. It also looks in detail at the craftsmen and their trades, which made the Thames barge so unique. A few have become barge yachts for chartering, but the Thames barge lives on through the recent restoration of one of the most famous: the Cambria”.

If you’ve not seen this film yet, then do yourselves a favour and go and see it. You can also buy copies through the website or through our own shop on board.

Kent Coastal Week features “a packed programme of free or subsidised events (which) will take place around the Kent coast between Saturday 27 October and Sunday 4 November (half term)”. There is a website at http://www.kent.gov.uk/leisure_and_culture/countryside_and_coast/coast/kents_coastal_week.aspx for more on this.

Safely ‘Home’

October 15, 2012 / / 0 Comments

Mike Maloney’s nice shot of Cambria’s Return Home at the end of the 2012 cxharter season

Friend of Cambria and ‘Red Sails’ film maker, Mike Maloney supplies tonight’s picture after he was on the ‘receiving end’ of Cambria’s last charter of 2012. He was there to see her tugged back up Faversham Creek and safely home. Thanks for that, Mike. It has a lovely, end of voyage, evening feel to it.

On this charter, Tim Goldsack was Skipper and Ryan Dale, Denis Johnson and Julie Brooks were crew. Thank you very much for that you guys and to all other Skippers and Crew who have looked after our old girl this year.

SB Decima

September 12, 2012 /

SB Decima; Photograph (and copyright) by Catherine De Bont. Published with permission.

Today’s picture is a superb one of Tim Goldsack’s ‘iron pot’ barge SB Decima taken by Catherine De Bont. Tim, Catherine and Decima all have long and deep associations with Faversham and with Cambria. Tim, of course is our Master Shipwright who managed, and personally did much of, the rebuild of the barge. He has also skippered her in racing, notably when all we volunteers were allowed ‘out to play’ last year. Tim owns the Decima, a ‘tin pot’. I was always curious as to why a shipwright so skilled at working in wood, would own a metal hulled barge but he tells me with a wry grin that it’s all down to the costs of maintenance. Decima has long been associated with Faversham, being previously owned by Faversham resident (and something of a local celebrity), ‘Beefy’ Wildish, still remembered by many of the locals now of ‘more mature years’. Bit of a character, by all accounts. The trophy for the Stays’l Class in the Swale match is named after him (real name Percy Wildish) and, to quote Tricia Gurnett in her Barge Blog (http://sailingbarges.wordpress.com/tag/percy-wildish-cup/) “In the Staysail Class Niagara and Repertor were neck and neck at the finish, with Repertor one second ahead. After a protest on the matter of something earlier in the match, Repertor was given a 5 minute time penalty, giving Niagara the victory. Decima was 3^rd, getting the Percy Wildish Cup which was fittingly presented by “Beefy” Wildish’s son.”

Catherine herself has, of course, a huge association with Cambria and barges (and sailing craft generally of course) not only from her “Barge and Smack News” and other articles in the glossy mag “Traditional Boats and Tall Ships” (http://tallship.typepad.com/my_weblog/wild_news/). She was on board as they brought the old Cambria into Faversham on Hop Festival Day 2007 and it is she who slings the mooring rope ashore in all the videos of this event, including the clip used by Mike Maloney in the “Red Sails” film (http://www.cwideprods.co.uk/red-sails/). She is a major contributor of barge related news and snippets and photographs on the Facebook networking site. Thanks for the photo, Catherine and may your lens never get smeared with salty water.

Ipswich Wet Dock

August 14, 2012 / / 0 Comments

While the website is briefly distracted by the Swale Match, Cambria is out there working hard for a living and we receive the latest three ‘Cambria Watch’ reports from Hilary Halajko.

“This week has flown by”, she reports. “After our fast passage to Stone heaps we had a short sail to the clamp house and the following day a sail up to Ipswich wet dock. A tow through from the harbour launch and the Dock master playing “Red Sails In The Sunset” over the p.a. system! Made us feel really special. We unloaded our concrete and aggregate and then had a massive clean up on deck and down below as everything seemed to be covered in fine concrete dust. There was then a need for essential shopping to get the dongle working again and a visit to the swimming pool. Last night we had a celebration supper at the local Chinese and today we say goodbye to Rachel and Katherine. Yesterday’s reception for the IMT went well, more from Don on that later. We are washing and shopping today and off tomorrow, Blackwater bound”.

“We had a busy Saturday (11^th Aug) in Ipswich Wet Dock”, she goes on. “The morning saw our load of cement go to two good causes, one via the Rotary Club, the other rather aptly towards work on Pin Mill Hard. During the afternoon the Ipswich Maritime Trust held a well attended reception aboard, under their vice chairman Des Pawson. We were also visited by groups interested in coming away with us next year and by Brett Aggregates, who had kindly donated aggregate samples to complement the cargo”.

Cattle Cake picture by Sea Change Sailing Trust

Then at Midday Monday “To commemorate Cambria’s last trading passage, which carried produce for making cattle cake, we made an edible cattle cake. It looked a lot tastier than the original!
During the afternoon we were pleased to welcome Bob Roberts’ daughters Gill and Ann, who had many reminiscences about their time aboard as youngsters when their father was skipper”.

A further piece at 6pm Monday says “We locked out of Ipswich wet dock at 11 am. The small harbour launch gave us a tow but her engine over heated so we dropped the tow just before the Orwell bridge. Short tacking all the way to Harwich, having to drop and reset the foresail at times and at one point having to quickly anchor as there was not enough room for us and a coaster. Cambria is fabulous, we were sometimes having to tack as soon as she had way on but she did it!! We are now anchored at Wrabness in the river Stour, very pretty place. I think we may be Crouch bound tomorrow”.

Thank you for all those, Hilary. It gives us ‘out here’ a real flavour of what the Cambria is up to and the good work you are doing.

Pennant received by Cambria for taking part in the River Pageant

Arrival At Faversham (Video)

June 27, 2012 / / 0 Comments

Mike Maloney, friend of Cambria maker of the “Red Sails” and “Sideways Launch” films has now posted on You-tube, a sequence of Cambria’s first arrival at Faversham back in 2007 just prior to the start of restoration. Posted under the banner “Cambria Arrives at Faversham” it’s made by the same team at Countrywide Productions. It shows the final tugging and shoving by the tugboat Jester, features Project Manager William Collard wandering about on deck looking like he knows what he’s doing (!) as well as plenty of other well know faces from the barging world including Catherine De Bont, Boss of Volunteers, Basil and Colin Frake. Soaring majestic music too! It’s on

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vmTi57esdZE&feature=youtu.be

if you fancy taking a look.

Pennant received by Cambria for taking part in the River Pageant

Today’s pic is another Dave Brooks one, this time of the pennant we received to mark the fact that we took part in the Avenue of Sail at the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee Pageant. Nice one Dave.