Tag: Richard W£eekes

Volunteers and more Volunteers

Poly-tunnel hoops are up

Poly-tunnel hoops are up

There has been a nice sequence of pictures posted on the Facebook group by Dave Brooks describing the superb efforts some of the volunteers in erecting our poly-tunnel for protection this winter. The gang were listed as ” Skipper Ian Ruffles with Reggie Andrews, Mick Nolan, Basil Brambleby, Bruce Richardson, and his dad”. The hoops went up on 16th November and there were even some pictures of 3rd Hand (Reggie) getting down and dirty retrieving some metal parts which were dropped overboard into the ‘oggin’ climbing down a ladder over the side and I expect, trying not to have to get off the ladder while reaching an arm down into the mud. November. Must have been a bit chilly, but there’s volunteering above and beyond the call of duty!

 

Meanwhile, following our success in 2013 applying for the ‘Volunteer of the Year Award(s)’ offered by the Marsh Christian Trust under the wing of National Historic Ships, we tried again. In 2013 Cambria’s two heroic teenage Volunteers, Beth and Hannah Pihama, won the Young Persons’ award outright. This year we entered our man Richard Weekes in the adult section. Well, he didn’t win outright but we did get a lovely letter and a smart certificate from the Marsh Christian Trust / National Historic Ships teams, as follows…

 

Dear Matt, 
Application for the Marsh Volunteer Award for Historic Vessel Conservation 2014

I am writing to let you know the outcome of the judging panel’s discussions on the applications for this
Richard Weekes, whose name you put forward for this award has not won on this occasion. However, we
want to publicly acknowledge the valuable contribution Richard is making through all that he does for the
historic vessel Cambria. Please find enclosed a ‘Highly Commended’ certificate to be presented to him in
view of his unstinting support for the maritime heritage of the United Kingdom.

This year’s Winners, together with those of the Young Volunteer of the Year Award, will be published on the News section of our website later this month.

Many thanks again for your application; we hope the Awards will be of interest to you again next year. Kind regards,

Paula Palmer

Office & Web Manager

National Historic Ships UK”

Richard Weekes Cert

Richard Weekes Cert

Richard’s Certificate.

 

Well done and a huge Thank You to all our volunteers, even if they do not all get themselves pictured scrambling down muddy ladders or get described only as someone’s Dad, or they don’t get entered for formal Awards. We greatly value all your works and know that we could not  keep this barge out there and sailing without you.

Thank You

Richard Weekes: Volunteer of the Year

Good luck today to the ‘crew’ on board Cambria for the last weekend of the St Kat’s Classic Boat Festival. If the weather here is anything to go by (blue skies, bright sunshine) then they may have a very busy time on their hands and could top the thousand visitors mark. That’ll be all staffed by unpaid volunteers which brings me neatly round to today’s subject, this year’s Volunteer of the Year, Richard Weekes.

Richard Weekes

Richard Weekes is presented with his Volunteer of the Year trophy by Patron David Suchet (l) accompanied by Skipper, Ian Ruffles (r).

Richard  has been with us for years. Regular readers will remember the rebuild phase where I called him “My Oppo, Richard”. We were partnered up together on the volunteer rota for the open weekends where we showed the public around the Visitor Centre and the viewing gallery every 6th weekend. I ‘knew’ there were a dozen or so of us but during that phase, Richard was the only one I ever saw, so if I needed a ‘person’ to give a sense of scale to a photograph, or hands holding a paint brush for a blog picture, Richard always had to stand in, so that his daughter even joked that I was Richard’s ‘personal photographer’

 

Richard then piled in during the painting phase, joining the gang of us each weekend but then also coming down during the week too, to quietly slap a coat of black on a leeboard, or some gloss green on a winch in the old buildings. He has basically carried on ever since when he has been able to get access to the boat. You know what they say about these Navy types – if it moves, salute it; if it doesn’t move paint it!

 

Richard has his own Cambria and Bob Roberts connection which, if memory serves, had Richard on one of the Navy ships accompanying the likes of Bob Roberts on Cambria to Dunkirk for one of the anniversary (25th?) gatherings of Little Ships. When Bob and his Mate were to be invited aboard the Navy ship for a drop or two of rum, it was Richard himself detailed to go fetch Bob and bring him aboard, and then later to assist the rather more ‘tired and emotional’ Barge Master back to his barge.

 

Well, this year the Cambria Trust has decided to acknowledge Richard’s unstinting hard work as a volunteer, by presenting him with a very nice trophy. The presentation was performed on board at St Kat’s yesterday afternoon by our esteemed Patron, David Suchet himself, in company of the current Skipper, Ian Ruffles. Well done, Richard. You earned it. We are all very proud of you.

Latest Newsletter is Out

Rotary Club Charter Briefing

Rotary Club Charter Briefing

Just to let you know that the latest version of our newsletter is ‘out’. This is May 2013 and contains some nice updates on what we’ve been at in winter work and the painting by my Oppo Richard Weekes PLUS a good article by Dave Brooks who was following the Medway Match from the Committee Boat (Medway Surveyor). I should possibly also bit this blog’s farewell to Capt. Roy Stanbrook who I got to know quite well when we moored at Gravesend, as his work had him at the PLA offices nearby. He has now stood down as a Trustee of the Cambria Trust as he has upped sticks and is now Harbour Master at Gibraltar. We’ll miss you and your superb sense of humour. Thank you very much for all your support of the barge during restoration and subsequently.

 

Thank you, also Dave B for this picture of the latest batch of Rotary Club sail trainees here moored at Gillingham Pier receiving their briefing from Skipper Richard Tichener and one of the Rotary Club officials prior to leaving the Pier under sail alone. Dave has more pictures of this, which I will post soon – the trainees love it because they are straight way into getting physical with the barge, in this case keeping our head as close to the pier as possible by winching a line to a bollard, while we drop sternward clear of the Pier.

Re Rigging

I am happy to report that the winter refit is now nearing completion and we are in the re-rigging phase. Dave Brooks sent the following report via e-mail.

Re-rigging Cambria in March 2013. Photo by Dave Brooks

Re-rigging Cambria in March 2013. With Ian, Reggie & Mark. Photo by Dave Brooks

“By now Cambria should be back at Standard Quay Faversham. It has been a frustrating period of time at Oare with the weather against us all the way. However Richard Weekes has done an amazing job and got paint on the entire hull below the covering boards. Also the shipwrights have been busy with the all important anti-fouling completed and the cabin and heating system well on the way. There are still jobs they need to complete which will be done at the quay.

We have very little time now before the barge goes on her first charter.

This weekend (16th and 17th March) we will continue with the re-rigging, mains’l and tops’l already bent on. It will be an interesting weekend as our sail-maker and Steve Hall and the famed Jimmy Lawrence are going to be down stitching the tiny burn holes in the mains’l as the mast is being raised. It is also planned to bend on the fores’l as the gear goes up. The weather isn’t expected to be great but there is still a lot of sanding down and painting to be done in the next fortnight. Also down below will need a lot of work sweeping up and washing down and possibly even some painting. The new cabin will require some paint.

Next weekend the mizzen will be re-instated which will leave the main hold free of her winter clutter. which means we will be able to have a good sort out down below. We are hoping to provide a chilli and rice meal as a Thank You for anybody who is able to turn up and help with the final push so that our barge goes out looking relatively ship shape.

Any time between now and the barge leaving that you can spare will be greatly appreciated”.

Meanwhile, from me, Happy Saint Patrick’s Day (Beannachtai na Féile Pádraig) and I will post some pictures of Jimmy and Steve at work as I get them from Dave.

 

 

Work in the Dry Dock

Richard Weekes paints a leeboard in drydock

Richard Weekes paints a leeboard in drydock

Dave Brooks reports that, “Due to Cambria arriving at Oare one day later than planned she still awaits jet-washing and anti-fouling. Hence only limited work was possible on the hull this weekend. None the less, Boss of Volunteers, Basil and ‘My Oppo’ Richard Weekes donned wellies and have managed to get the tar scraped and undercoat on where necessary. Also completed this weekend was the painting of the mainmast so that re-rigging can commence next weekend”. Thanks for that, Dave B.

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