Tag: St Andrews Wharf

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.

 

Tricia loves a Power Station

Cambria drops a topsail. Mark Chapman Photo

Cambria drops a topsail in this pic by Mark Chapman. Tilbury Power Station looms

It’s become something of a standing joke on the Facebook barge-orientated pages that our friend Tricia Gurnett of the Society for Sailing Barge Research gets wound up by the fact that power stations spoil the view from the river(s) and so often get into the background of barge photographs. This started last year when Cambria was alongside St Andrew’s Wharf in Gravesend and then later moored just off shore on the trot moorings. She was in such a position that it was hard to avoid the big Tilbury power station on the north bank of the river. We published a few pictures with Tilbury in unawares and Tricia started gently ribbing us. Soon, naturally, we were doing it deliberately to tease her, with captions along the lines “and another shot especially for Tricia Gurnett” or even, in some cases deliberately framing Tilbury in bits of rigging, through ratlines or life belts etc. All good clean fun.

 

Today’s picture is a lovely one by Mark C and has something in the background which may strike you as familiar. Sorry, Tricia G!

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