Tag: topsail

Centre Fold

April 21, 2013 / / 2 Comments

Thank you to both Skipper Ian Ruffles and barge book author Nick Ardley for your clarifications on the role of the long-stay in barge rigging. Thanks too, Ian for today’s beautiful picture of Cambria moored off Gillingham in the Medway, at sunset. Our new 3rd-hand, Reggie put this one up on Facebook (from where I nabbed it!) and promises to look out and take more for us.

Cambria moored in a Medway sunset; picture by Skipper Ian Ruffles.

Onto the doormat this morning plops the latest edition of ‘Mainsheet’, periodical magazine from the Society for Sailing Barge Research (SSBR, see also http://www.sailingbargeresearch.org.uk/ ) This is their Spring 2013 publication, Issue No 93 and marks their 50th Anniversary Year, so it is a bit special.

Most strikingly the cover picture runs across the whole front and back cover like a centre-fold. It is a gorgeous shot of Maldon waterfront taken by Geoff Tyrell in 2010. In the foreground are the hulks of SB Oxygen and SB Scotia with assorted ‘live’ barges dipped down between the saltings banks on the low tide, all overlooked by the lovely old tower and spire of Maldon Church.

The mag is, as ever, a FEAST of pictures, letters, well researched articles, reviews and comment. It includes, in full, Richard Walsh’s eulogy on the late Mark (Nozz) Boyle and momories of Catherine de Bont. It has a good few responses to an earlier piece on Mauretania, an item on the 1953 floods at Whitstable, an item called “A Winter’s Passage” about SB Colonia which is full of first hand memories, and another “A Voyage Round My Father” (in this case, old Skipper ‘Jack’ Josh). Another item summaries some of the stories our friend Tricia Gurnett has posted in “The Barge Blog”. There is much much more – this magazine and it’s hammock partner “Topsail” are reason enough alone to pay your subs and join SSBR. It finishes with a nice piece by Charles Traill who was ‘dragged off’ (OK, probably quite willingly!) on a holiday away from barges, to get all cultured by looking at an exhibition of Pre-Raphaelite art in the Tate, and came upon a picture of an auburn haired ‘lady of negotiable affection’. This picture, by John Rodden Stanhope in 1858 called “Thoughts of the Past” shows ‘your wan’ gazing out of a window upon the River Thames where, in the background are… you guessed it…. spritsail rig barges quite clearly unloading at a wharf and a stumpie out in mid stream. “Salvation!” says Charles. Nice one.

Thanks for that, the Team at SSBR.

Topsail No 46

December 12, 2012 / / 0 Comments

On Cambria’s Deck and enjoying a cup of coffee, Blogger Matt Care in September 2012; Pic by Matt Care.

It’s always a thrill when Topsail magazine (it’s more like a book these days!) arrives in the post, and my No 46, December 2012 arrives this morning – almost coinciding with the 12:12 12/12/12 moment which we were all alerted to by the local Radio station. This one is as good as ever and is , as always, choc-a-bloc full of interesting articles and nice pictures. For those who don’t know, it is one of two periodical publications by the Society for Sailing Barge Research and well worth subscribing to that organisation for.

This one is dominated by an 18 page article by Norma O’Keefe about the murder of the Skipper of SB Speranza in 1931 and has a lovely, well written, atmospheric piece by visiting Ozzie, Bruce Sibley who manages to schmooze his way aboard SB Venture for a voyage in the 50’s. In the latter case, the writer also took his camera aboard, so there are nice action pictures to go with it. The mag also has a sad tale of the sinking of house-boat barge SB Thursday as described by Skipper John Hone who, along with crew and cat were only just rescued in the nick of time.

For me, having navigated some of this waterway in a holiday narrow-boat, it was also interesting to read about the use of sailing barges on the Leeds and Liverpool Canal. Editor Richard Walsh reviews various new publications including a couple of great interest here, “The Cambria Story” by Robert Simper and recent book by our friend Nick Ardley, “The Jottings of a Thames Estuary Ditch-Crawler”. Richard also reviews the Video “Red Sails” by Mike Maloney of Countrywide Productions. “This is far and away the best ever modern film covering the history, present day and restoration scene,” says Richard, and I agree 100%. There is also an ad for the new Compendium which we ourselves reviewed in a recent post. Then as I flicked over the back cover, I thought I’d spotted a nice pic of Cambria – the familiar bowsprit, bow-badge scroll work and bob. Not quite! It is actually Everard’s SB Veronica on her way to winning the 1937 Thames Match. Perhaps you’ll forgive me the error as it’s the Season of Good Will?

Autumn 2012 Mainsheet

October 2, 2012 / / 0 Comments

The latest edition of that superb magazine ‘Mainsheet’ arrives through the post to me here in Ireland. These are always excellent and always most welcome and this one, No. 92, Autumn 2012, arriving on a rain-swept day when I am dissuaded from outdoor jobs by the weather, bringing with it the promise of lots of fascinating reading, is especially so. These sometimes come out with a main theme, like the ‘Fire’ edition of Topsail I was describing a few posts back, and here there is a strong thread of Dickensian London running through it. Page 12 has the ‘Bookmark’ section covering a new publication called “Dickens’s Victorian London” and there is an excellent long, rich article on Henry Dodd, ‘The Golden Dustman’ which makes reference to the fact that Dodd was a contemporary of Dickens and that they knew one another. Dodd may have been the ‘model’ for Dickens’s character Nichodemus Boffin. There is a piece called “Expectation” about some convicts escaping into the marshes and references to the ‘Magwitch’ stuff in.

Cambria’s stayfall at night; Photo by Matt Care

I don’t want to give the impression that it is all ‘Dickens’, however especially if any readers are, like me, complete Philistines who hate Dickens with a passion having been forced to ‘do’ Great Expectations for ‘O’ Level in the most tedious, analytical, dry way imaginable…. The whole mag is full of the usual powerful, well written articles backed up by pains-taking detailed research and obvious hard work. Cambria’s re-dedication is covered, as is the sad loss of SB Trojan, the resurrection of SB Niagara, SB Edith May’s being awarded ‘Flagship’ status by National Historic Ships, another in the brilliant series “Frank Thompson Remembers”, stuff on the AGM, the Olympics and this year’s rush of barges appearing on screen. We had John Sargeant’s “Britain’s First Photo Album”, of course, and Rory McGrath’s “Pub Dig”, the BBC’s “Our Food” series featuring SB Lady of the Lea in a hop brewing story, SB Cygnet in Country File and finally SB Dawn recreating a stackie trip to deliver hay to the Horseguard’s Parade. It was a good year for barges on screen.

The mag is filled with other fascinating stuff and is well illustrated with plenty of excellent photo’s and has SB Thalatta under full sail in the Thames Match on the cover. I am also pleased from a ‘blogger’ point of view that the SSBR are now starting to include comment and praise for the new internet presence now beginning to come through from the innovative newcomers to its ranks. SSBR now has a Facebook page and there is a rich and informative blog written by Tricia Gurnett now on line.

So, well done once again, the Editorial Team at Mainsheet and all the contributors. Also to SSBR themselves – you should be rightly proud of this magazine. Anyone reading this who is not a member and does not receive Mainsheet and Topsail; you are missing a real treat and you should seriously consider joining up. It is only £15 per year in the UK. SSBR are on http://www.sailingbargeresearch.org.uk/ and Tricia’s “The Barge Blog” is on http://sailingbarges.wordpress.com/ . SSBR on Facebook are on http://www.facebook.com/pages/The-Society-for-Sailing-Barge-Research/166172703419349?ref=ts&fref=ts

Good Hunting.

Richard Walsh’s SB Dorcas Fire

September 18, 2012 / / 0 Comments

I mentioned before that among my surprise gifts from a friend who had finished with them, were the 2006/7 editions (40 and 41) of the magazine “Topsail” of the Society for Sailing Barge Research. Those of you who were members of SSBR back in 2006 may recall edition 40 for being jammed full of articles and items about fire. There is “The Night the Thames Caught Fire” by Richard Walsh, “Burning Ambition” and “Before and After the Fire” (both these two are photo features) and “Some Old Flames” by Capt. Mark Boyle, to name but a few.

Lady of the Lea and Cambria in the Thames Match 2012; photo by Phillip Barnes Warden

It was the Thames piece which caught my eye and then had me gripped. It is the amazing story of the Sailing Barge Dorcas, in 1900 a hoy barge making regular runs to Sandwich for the Sandwich Hoy Company and on this occasion loaded above and below decks with barrels of petrol. The lack of attention to safety, says Richard Walsh, was “incomprehensible”. The coal range was alight in the aft cabin for cooking, there was a stove for’d, navigation lamps were lit, there was “probably a binnacle oil lamp” and cabin lights; “collectively enough naked flame to create an enormous risk for barge, cargo and crew” but they had been transporting petrol this way for 20 years without incident.

With 20/20 hindsight it seems almost inevitable that there was a huge explosion, a massive fire and many more blasts as the cargo started to go up. The barge had been heading downstream and now, with skipper and crew blown overboard or having abandoned ship in a bit of a hurry went drifting off down the Thames on a strong ebb with a tailwind, burning furiously like a fire ship in the days of the old ‘Man of War’ naval battles. It bounced off Woolwich Ferry landing stage setting fire to a steam ferry, a sailing barge, 7 dumb barges and drove on surrounded by burning river towards Woolwich Arsenal wharf setting fire to ten fire engines, 2 warehouses a stationery store and various railway trucks. It took just over an hour to sink. It’s an amazing story and well worth either a read if you can get hold of it, or a re-read if it’s sitting gathering dust on your book shelves. Well done to Richard Walsh, the SSBR and the editorship of Topsail.

Another beautiful sunlit Mark Chapman photograph. Cambria lowers her tops'l after another sortie.

5 Days and Counting Down

June 25, 2012 / / 0 Comments

Just a reminder that in 5 days, at close of play on 29th, we will be moving full time over to this, our new website and the old site, hosted by Open Sandwich, will be turned off. I have been publishing (versions of) these stories on both sites. You will not need to do anything, as the address you have used to find the old site up till now ( www.cambriatrust.org.uk ) will find the new one after the change. Incidentally, this is post 698 in the series, so we should just about make the round 700 before the ‘techies’ snip the wires and disarm us!

Another beautiful sunlit Mark Chapman photograph. Cambria lowers her tops'l after another sortie.

Today’s picture is another of Mark C’s beautiful sunlit ones of Cambria dropping a sail at the end of a sortie. I always think barges look oddly ‘broken’ in this pose, but that’s just me. Cambria is currently moored ‘back at base’ in Faversham and is manned at weekends for visits by the public.