Tag: Tilbury

A Chunk of Montreal

March 11, 2013 / / 3 Comments

I get a nice email in from barge book and sailing book author, friend of the Cambria, Nick Ardley. He’s been out exploring the foreshores again and has come across a chunk of the barge, SB Montreal. Nick Takes up the story. Picture is from Nick.

Montreal bow badge found by Nick Ardley; Picture by Nick.

“A little something for you… I was walking (with ‘the Mate’*) between Tilbury Fort and Coal House Fort along the Thames shore last weekend and came across a barge’s ‘badge’ sitting up on the tide line near Tilbury power station. It looked familiar – I photographed it, of course.

Comparing the badge pictures with pictures of the badges that were on the Montreal, now broken up at Erith, it is clear it has come from her. It is possible to see the tip of the arrow head on the carved yellow line. Looking at my pictures (from Nigel Field a member of the Erith YC) it is clear that the badge was from her starboard bow.

If anyone wants the badge it sits about mid distance from turn of wall by West Tilbury Creek and the power station’s jetty. It is up high, but tides are coming towards springs … so it might go wandering about.”

*For those not familiar with Nick’s writings of his meanderings on the good ship ‘Whimbrel’, ‘the Mate’ is how he describes his Good Lady when she is crewing the boat and keeping him out of mischief. Nick tells me that his sailing season has been relatively good to them on Whimbrel so far this year … they have been out a dozen times for some lazy (cold), gentle and exhilarating sails. ‘The Mate’ is now ‘retired’ so has done more during a tide than she has for many years… The boat has also been in a spot of filming. Nick invites us to go see this on his website at http://www.nickardley.com/

Thanks for all that, Nick, and good sailing. Regards to The Mate also. Get the bacon sandwiches on!

Timeliness and Zeal!

August 9, 2012 / / 1 Comment

When it all goes quiet in the snug tonight and you need one of those ‘pup quiz’ style snippets to lob in to get the conversation going again, try this. Did you know that on Cambria’s final trading mission before being laid up in 1970 and, in fact, sold by Bob Roberts, to the Maritime Trust to begin her ‘career’ as museum vessel, (before we rudely woke her up again and made her go back to work!) her cargo was Groundnut Cake? Groundnut cake is part processed peanut kernels used as a good source of protein and fibre in cattle and animal feed. These days it is mainly produced in India where, for example, the Raja Fat and Feeds Pvt Company say of it “India accounts to be one of the largest groundnut producing nations. We at our company use high quality nutritious groundnut for the production of our groundnut extraction cake. We are the most famous groundnut cake manufacturer and its supplier, established in India. We impeccably manufacture extracted groundnut cake under strictly controlled conditions. Our groundnut extraction cake is high on protein and in other nutritious values. We cater our products timely to our customers with zeal to satisfy our customers up to the utmost level” There! Impeccability, Timeliness and Zeal! What more could the average cow require?

Cement cargo for Cambria, Tilbury to Ipswich, photo by Sea Change Sailing Trust.

Sea Change are today on a mission to recreate, as far as possible, this last cargo trip from as close to the original Tilbury wharf as they could get, which turns out to be a cmenet dock, to as close as possible to the destination as possible, in Ipswich and carrying what ever cargo could be arrange, which turned out to be some roadstone aggregate and cement sample bags sourced locally.. This was loaded on board using a crane-lifted box and transferred to a pallet in the hold by the lads on the training trip. The picture is of the cement bags and is supplied by Sea Change.

Hilary Halajko’s latest “Cambria Watch” update runs, ” Our passage yesterday was a very pleasing 10 hours. Anchored at stone heaps and awoke to a bit of fog this morning. Underway for a short sail to the clamp house ( river Orwell). Late afternoon row and dingy sail to the beach for a couple of hours. tomorrow we lock in to Ipswich wet dock to unload our cargo and then hit the town……..for a meal out!” Your blogger has to admit to not knowing where “stone heaps” or the “clamp house” are so I will have to do some googling. Meanwhile, remember, stay impeccable, timely and zealous!

Dick Durham casts off

August 7, 2012 /

We have a ‘celeb’ aboard Cambria for the first part of her current historic trip to reproduce the barge’s final cargo-carrying run, Tilbury to Ipswich. None other than Dick Durham, her last Mate and now writer for Sailing mag “Yachting Monthly”. Dave Brooks reports, “Today the Cambria and her Sea Change crew left Gravesend with a certain Mr Dick Durham aboard bound for Tilbury Dock to load token cargo. Tomorrow she will leave Tilbury around 7.00am bound for Ipswich in a rerun of her last ever cargo passage in 1970 under Bob Roberts with Dick Durham as mate. I am pleased to say he looked quite at home on the old girl as he helped throw off the mooring lines. Unfortunately Dick can’t make the full trip due to other commitments but will sail down river with them for a while.”

Nice to have you aboard, DD – it always feels a bit weird inviting Dick aboard; almost as if we should be asking his permission to be there! Incidentally, Dick writes a very nice blog from under the wing of the mag, at http://www.yachtingmonthly.com/blogs/1/dick-durham but it is web-fed, so you will need to add it to Google Chrome (or whatever web browser you use). I added it as an RSS feed, if that means anything to you.

Dick Durham casts off the stern warps as Cambria departs Gravesend. Photo by Dave Brooks.