Tag: Thalatta

The Championship so far

August 29, 2012 / / 2 Comments

It is interesting at this stage, with just one race left to go in the Championship (The Colne Match), to check out the Championship positions. The maximum points for a barge in any one race are 8, which you pick up for all the ‘milestones’ round the course – starting, best away, first round the outer mark, class wins, overall wins and so on. This means you can actually win the course overall but not obtain maximum points. It is interesting this year particularly because there are so many barges in the running what with the returning racers such as Niagara and Thalatta. 24 barges make it to the points table all be it some with just the one race to their name such as Adieu, Centaur, Cygnet, Greta, Dinah, Orinoco, Lady Daphne, Thalatta and Victor. I’m not knocking them here, you understand. These are expensive, historic boats which are also, in some cases the family home or livelihood and the weather can make the risk not worth the pleasure of racing, or the need to make a living in a tricky season might preclude taking the 3-4 days out of work to get to, compete in and get home again from these matches. We all love to see a good turn-out but we understand when a barge can’t be in the Fleet.

Marjorie racing in the Southend Match 2012 where she scored 7 points, Picture by Dave Brooks.

Leading up to now is Edith May who scored points in 6 matches and did well in the Passage Match (7 points), the Blackwater (7), the Thames (6) and the recent Southend (8). Their total is now 34 points. The rules are such that you can discard your worst score for the year but that happens after the Colne when you know all your scores for the year. The discard would currently be the zero points from the Swale, for Edith May, so they’d still be leading. 2^nd in the Championship on account of consistent point scoring and being there in every race, is Lady of the Lea who did well in the Medway, the Passage, Blackwater and Southend. 3^rd is Repertor who get reasonable places in most races although never the highest scores and 4^th is Edme who scored maximum (8) in the Medway and also did well in the Blackwater and Thames.

Our own old girl, Cambria is down there at 7^th after picking up 6 points each in the Medway and the Thames. I believe we are entered in the Colne. New girl and class rival (Big mulie bowsprit rig), Thalatta also did well in her one race, the Thames (beating Cambria in the points) Total 7, leaving her 13^th equal with Pudge.

Looking ‘down the table’ in the other direction (per race), top points were as follows.

Medway : Edme (8)

Passage : Edith May (7)

Pin Mill : Mirosa (7)

Blackwater : Edith May = Edme (7 each)

Thames : Thalatta (7)

Swale : Cabby = Mirosa (8 each)

Southend : Edith May (8)

Full results table is on http://www.sailingbargeassociation.co.uk/championship2012.html

Thanks Dave Brooks for the lovely picture of Marjorie competing in the Southend Match where she scored 7 points, matching the score of Lady of the Lea, 2nd equal to Edith May (8).

What about the Workers?

July 27, 2012 / / 0 Comments

Now here’s the thing!

I am creating a new page in this website – find it from the top black menu bar, via ‘About’ then ‘Restoration’ then ‘Shipwrights and The Team’

My intention is to honour and recognise all those who physically built, or helped build, the barge; anyone who sawed a timber beam, shaped a carling, chiseled, hammered, adzed or wielded a screw driver. I want shipwrights, riggers, the sail maker, caulkers, painters (including the volunteers), the metal work engineers, the Sparks, Plumbers, graphics makers, anyone who shoveled sawdust out from the bilges, squished anti-foul up into bolt-holes underneath, hefted a winch body on deck or welded a leeboard.

The Rival? SB Thalatta off Queenborough. Photo by Dave Brooks.

What I would like to produce here is a complete list of their names, nicknames if appropriate and a short description of their part in the almighty task we have completed here. These guys (and girls) have done a fantastic job and their efforts are not recognised anywhere else in one list. I can recall a lot of them, although sometimes only forenames or nicknames, so I will start the ball rolling. Please pile in through the comments section or by emailing in on CambraTrustSecretary@live.co.uk for anybody you know about or can think of, or whose details you can furnish us with. On the other hand, also please tell us if we have included ‘you’ up here and you do not wish to be so mentioned. The last thing I want to do is offend anyone by including them when this is not their cup of tea. I am bound to have forgotten somebody. I appreciate that a lot of people did other stuff voluntarily (man the Visitor Centre, shop, photo’s, video, exhibitions in Fleur de Lis etc, and their turn will come. This page is about the physical, hands-on creation of the barge.

Meanwhile, a lovely shot from Dave Brooks of SB Thalatta off Queenborough in the sunset. I have used the same shot as a front page slider on this site, too. Thalatta is a big, recently restored mulie-rigged lady and, as such, is quickening a few pulses as a possible race-within-a-race on Saturday’s Thames Match. Exciting stuff. The Rivals?

Roll Out The Barrel

July 19, 2012 / / 0 Comments

Cambria Watch……Hilary sends the following update.
“Update from Rowhedge. The tow up to Rowhedge by Andy Harman was carried out with the usual aplomb although he has not yet fitted the windows in the tug so it had been a windy trip for him upriver. Andy runs St Osyth Boatyard, has just rebuilt the Thalatta and skippers the Edme which is a very fast barge in the matches as well as being another engineless one. We swung without using the anchor and fetched up beautifully alongside the Parish Quay. Beer was delivered to the Albion by the boys who rolled the barrels along the street and were given a coke for their pains.

We were just about to go to the pictures in Colchester when it was apparent that the moorings dug into the quay were not strong enough for the amount of, and angle of, mud the barge was sitting on and she slipped off somewhat. This meant a tow down that night rather than another tide cementing relations, and another night at Pyefleet. We were thinking of going on to Harwich but by the time we were back at Brightlingsea, we decided we were all too tired after a 16 hour day so we anchored and waited until morning.

Wednesday morning’s forecast was for gales and so we waited until early afternoon when we thought the wind had moderated….it had for a while. Beating out of the Blackwater in a 7 was exhilarating and then a very fast run with just the one gybe to Harwich. The pier master had kindly kept Halfpenny Pier pontoon clear for us but after he had gone home a very large Swedish yacht went alongside despite all his “no mooring” signs. Thursday morning, a brisk NW made winching her along to the now vacant berth rather hard work and all before breakfast!!

At 11am Richard, the landlord of the New Bell Inn, came to collect his beer, the crew ably transferring it from hold to pier to car to cellar. We were then invited to see round lightship no 18, the last manned lightship. It was fascinating and we now want one!! We are intending to leave Harwich tomorrow morning for a short sail to Pin Mill blocks. We have hoes, and hopefully a delivery of paint so we can paint around the topsides, having scrapped the tar off while we were on Brightlingsea hard. The barge should know her way up to Pin Mill, but it will be the first visit to her old home port in 42 years”.

Superb report, Hilary. Thank you very much for that. The pictures are by Don Ramsey of Sea Change , who has generously allowed us to use them here.