Tag: Ryan Dale

Caulking Pudge’s Decks

Caulking Pudge's Decks

Caulking Pudge’s Decks, screen grab by Matt Care

Every now and then, it’s a good idea to just go for a general browse around the barge related websites to see what’s about. Doing this today I have come across a rather nice 5 minute chunk of video of the jobs involved in caulking the decks, in this case by the Thames Barge Sailing Trust boys on SB Pudge. The video, on

takes us nicely through raking out the seams, preparing the oakum, driving the oakum into the seam, singeing off the spare fibres and then pouring in the molten pitch. Thank you for that TBST.

A quick Happy Birthday to Ryan Dale (25) , one of Cambria’s shipwrights

That’s it for now – we are a bit short on stories at present, unless you know different.

Julie B-for-Bowsprit

Julie B on the bowsprit

Julie B on the bowsprit (with Ryan Dale); Picture by Den Johnson

Denis Johnson, currently crewing on Cambria’s final 2012 charter with Ryan Dale, Julie Brooks and Skipper Tim Goldsack, posted this picture on Face book. That’s our Julie B leppin’ out along the bowsprit cables like a mountain goat. To the volunteers, it’s a bit more than that. We who paint and scrape, change bedding, man up for the public access visits and haul provisions are generally speaking not skilled crew and we’re like kids at Christmas when we do get a chance to go on board. Through this year and last we’ve been getting increasingly brave and trying to out do each other by (small) feats of rigging climbing – so for example I have been up the ratlines while racing which feat has since also been achieved (with the boat stationary) by Dave B and Mark C but I don’t think any of us had nipped out along the bowsprit. Well now Julie has stolen a march on us buy climbing out there and Den has taken a picture to prove it.

Where next, Julie? Cross trees and top m’st?

 

One Final Charter

Gravesend Chart

Gravesend Chart; Picture by Matt Care

Cambria is now getting readied for her final charter (as far as we know at present) of 2012. These last three are the Young Carer ones sponsored by The Rotary Club, the first two (now completed) were skippered by Ian Ruffles, the final one this weekend will have our Master Shipwright, Tim Goldsack in charge. After the weekend sail they will finish up in Faversham where the barge will be prepared for winter and any maintenance she requires. In all three charters the Crew has been our old friends Denis Johnson and Shipwright Ryan Dale both of whom are, by all accounts, thoroughly enjoying the experience and getting used to the role and very good at it. It’s no easy thing sailing a barge anyway and to mentor the sail trainees and keep them safe and well at the same time while ensuring they enjoy the break is an achievement worth ticking off on your CV. Well done to all four of you guys. You are part of the Trust’s pride in our old girl and the good works she is currently involved in.

 

Once she’s in Faversham, of course, the usual opportunities will start up to try a bit of volunteering yourselves. We use volunteers for all kinds of tasks from tidying and cleaning to painting and to showing members of the public around the barge, selling merchandise to polishing the brasses, helping with lowering the ‘gear’ and messing with rigging. It can be hard work (if you want it to be) or it can be simply “messing about in boats”. If you are interested in getting involved, contact either Secretary Dave Brooks, or Company Secretary Basil Brambleby, both on CambriaTrustSecretary@live.co.uk . Give it a go!

Too Rough for the Wall

Hull Model

Hull Model for the Brooks father and son modelling project, Picture by Dave Brooks.

They tell me there’s been a small delay on getting the barge onto the wall and open to the public. You are ‘enjoying’ some rough ol’ weather at present, apparently and the crew returning the barge to Gravesend after the last charter were obliged to come alongside at the floating pontoon which would at least be going up and down at the same rate as they were, rather than the unforgiving concrete wall of St Andrew’s Wharf. There the barge stayed overnight and I understand that Skipper Ian Ruffles and Mate Ryan Dale found all the facilities on the pontoon shut up and gone away due to the bad weather and effectively had to ‘break’ out of the place (don’t worry, only in a good and non-damaging way) to go buy their dinner in town before ‘breaking’ back in to eat it. Apparently the barge may be moved and become open to the public Tuesday, weather permitting.

 

So meanwhile here is another picture of the barge model currently being rendered Westmoreland shaped by Dave Brooks and his Father, Tony Brooks.

 

Crackin’ Along

14 knots on the GPS

14 knots on Cambria’s GPS navigation kit; Photo by Ryan Dale.

Cambria is currently in the capable hands of Skipper Ian Ruffles and Mates Denis Johnson and Ryan Dale (who is also one of ‘our’ Shipwrights) and is out on 4 short charters with the Rotary Club sponsored young carers. Ryan posted this photo of the GPS navigation kit recording a GPS speed (speed over the ground, i.e. including any help from the tide flow) of 14.2 knots which is fair pasting along. Ryan tells us they peaked at 15.9 knots not long after this shot was taken. You can see from the screen map that they are off Shelly Bay which is an industrial oil-terminal ‘inlet’ (a man made bay) on the north shore of the Thames estuary between Stanford-le-Hope and Coryton. Tricia Gurnett adds that this is “the end where Shell Haven was” so possibly explains the name. These speeds mean the sails must we well stretched and set up beautifully and the rigging tuned to perfection after the Summer spent at the hands of Richard Tichener and the Sea Change team and then more recently by the current crew. The hull will also be nicely scraped and smooth, free from barnacles after her visits to the blocks at Pin Mill. Well done and Thank you to all of you. We’ve got us a fast barge!

September Charters

Today’s picture of Cambria battling through mountainous seas and lashed by a Force 8 comes from the lens of Phillip Barnes-Warden. Thank you for that, Phillip. The Barnes Warden family have made a very generous bequest to the Cambria Trust in the name of a recently departed, barge-related family member. I have added their name to the list of Sponsors under the ‘Funding’ tab. If you are aware of any other sponsors or donors who are not currently showing on this list please advise us.

 

Becalmed

Cambria becalmed during the Thames Match 2012: photo by Phillip Barnes Warden

With her racing season over, Cambria is now moored against the inside of Gravesend Pontoon being serviced and readied for her next job(s). It is the inside of the pontoon because the pontoon is shortly to be used as a dock for the Gravesend ferry and also the Waverley may be calling by. We are involved now in 4 short charters sponsored by the Rotary Club in the “Respite for Young Carers” programme. This is where youngsters who are tied up most of their lives caring for, for example, a blind or disabled family member, get a break sailing while the Rotary Club pays for a substitute carer to look after the family member. On these trips, Skipper will be Ian Ruffles, with Denis Johnson and Shipwright Ryan Dale as crew.

 

This brings us through to 23rd Sept when Cambria will move to the ‘wall’ at St Andrew’s Wharf in Gravesend for a week or so of mooring and being open to the public to look round. I’ll actually be there myself, living on board and meeting the public, so please come up an introduce yourself and be as rude as you like about this blog!

Three Updates

Hilary Halajko for “Cambria Watch” reports that “Our delivery to the Railway Tavern at Brightlingsea completed, our next passage is to Halfpenny Pier at Harwich with a delivery for the New Bell”

Purifier Building. Restoring iron window frames; Picture from Faversham Creek Trust websiteFaversham Creek Trust report good progress on the Purifier Building (on the Creekside, currently being restored for use as a workshop and Apprentice Training Centre for the maritime trades). Their post on 14th July, which includes this picture says, “You may have seen scaffolding up but you may not have realised that it goes around the corner, over the water. This all about renovating the cast iron window frames, pointing where necessary, and opening up windows that have been bricked up from the inside.

Temporary polycarbonate glazing is being used to let light in, until the frames can be properly glazed.  Some of the cast iron frames have to be repaired, with new sections fabricated, all the original very hard putty knocked out, then primed and painted. (It is) Hard work chipping and grinding”

Last but by no means least, our friends the ‘Barge Blog’, on http://sailingbarges.wordpress.com/ are reporting that one of their contributors, a certain Ryan Dale, has found a spritsail rig in Italy. Ryan provided them with the link http://www.caravanstage.org/description.htm and added the following description of “The Caravan Stage Company which performs on the deck of a 30 metre tall ship as the Caravan Stage Tall Ship Theatre.   The boat, the Amara Zee, is based on the traditional design of a Thames Sailing Barge, and has the best of contemporary marine and theatre technology. With its shallow draft of 1.2 metres and its self-lowering masts via on-deck winches the boat can access virtually any waterfront community.  The Amara Zee uses the masts and rigging for the scenery, light and sound equipment and special effects.   The shows are staged on the entire deck, on the masts and rigging, on the water and land surrounding the vessel with the audience sitting on the shore.” There’s more, but I’ll let you nip off to Barge Blog if you fancy that.

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