For once the early May bank holiday weekend came with the finest weather for many years. We had the boat ready for Friday, but went instead on the Saturday afternoon, when the conditions were idyllic, with a wish for a little more breeze: diesel had to be consumed on our trip across the Thames, however, the breeze took us into the entrance to the Swale … dropping sail as we neared the old steamer jetty ruins.
The place did not look very busy for a holiday weekend. The reason, we soon saw, was that the floating pontoon was not yet back in service. Later ashore I talked to the Queenborough YC commodore. He assured me that work was ongoing and would be completed in around 2-3 weeks. So, possibly it will be there by the time he ‘Whitsun’ holiday comes round. When the duty harbour master came round for the mooring fee on Sunday morning he too assured me that work was planned for completion by end of month. Additionally h said that the heavy duty pontoon which is to be anchored to the north of the current hammer-head had yet to be towed up from Gosport. This, I was told, would be linked to the original and served by electricity points and water…
The hammer head still disconnected…
A couple of boats came past us a little after we picked up a mooring, loudly complaining about the lack of a trot boat … one chap had a dog to walk! Always out with our dinghy we had no problems getting ashore at the old concrete hard … it was good enough until recent times! Tides were sweet for us too, being a 2200 low water… Why don’t more tow a dinghy knowing of the situation here… Queenborough is a grand place to drop into, but it does need that floating shore access…
The plan had been to wend our way upriver to Upnor: it is a place often visited at this time of the year; however, we’ve not made it for two season starts. We didn’t again because the wind, what there was, was fickle and light. It didn’t take long to decide upon working our way up into lower Halstow, drop ashore for a glass, and find a spot for the night in Stangate… We largely motor sailed to the entrance to Stangate where we met Windsong of Leigh, a ‘fellow’ Finesse 24 just recently sold to a man from the Leicester way who plans on keeping the boat at Blakeney Point, Norfolk.
Leaving our new found friend behind the engine was silenced and we proceeded to drift and sail up with the tide. It was mostly sailing: a gentle breeze kept coming from all sorts of directions, making a close reach fun! On the way we passed our ‘old’ friend Doris with her skipper dancing round her decks, half naked, in the fine weather … we exchanged pleasantries and slowly parted. The pace was slow, but time was with us on this dawdle towards Lower Halstow.
Doris and Denis…
Passing the wasted remnants of the once large island of saltings that ran parallel with Twinney and Lower Halstow creeks I spotted what looked like a bit of barge bottom below the clay cliff. On reflection I wondered if it was the base of an old hut used by clay diggers … can anyone tell me. The mate had gone below to get out of the sun, for a while … looking below I spied her fast asleep. It really was a lazy sail!
The remains of a clay diggers hut?
After another hour, yes, an hour, and after passing the spritsail barge Westmoreland in her floating dock tethered to the Edith May’s mooring buoy, I was working Whimbrel through the Lower Halstow moorings, tacking from around 1m to 1m crossing the gut each time – so I knew where it was. Just short of a mooring outside the dock we slid to a halt. By the time the sails were dropped and the mate’s slumbers terminated we were able to putter up to the buoy…
Sailing close past the Westmoreland.
After a glass at a pub of my merry youth, the Three Tuns, we ran gently away. That was until a good breeze popped up from the sea and we enjoyed our first real sail of the weekend! Our anchor was dropped a little north of Chetney Island – a lovely spot, but the bottom is hard here and the wary makes sure the anchor has bitten firmly!
Monday, we enjoyed our breakfast underway while sailing sedately down Saltpan Reach into Sheerness Reach. Near the North Kent, the mate suddenly shouted, “Dolphin…!” and sure enough there was, in fact we’re certain we saw two individuals – these will have been harbour porpoises, surely!
Not the easiest of things to catch… Harbour porpoise in the Medway.
Apart from clonking our centre plate on something sailing over the Grain Flats (I’d strayed inside the 2m line a little…) we enjoyed a lovely sail back to the Ray Channel … dropping anchor to the west of where the seal colony collects off Westcliff.
After I’d gone round the boats underwater parts, down from the water line with a broom, we, the mate and I, had a wander, hand in hand over the sands to the ‘Thames’ edge… It’s just something we do … yes we had a good time!