The first of two barge yachts I saw during my travels this year were upon the water, another was spied recently during the autumn whilst walking. The first discussed, pictured below, came through Queenborough towards the end of August. I couldn’t focus in on her name, but a sailing friend has said he believes her…

Our connection with the Blue Mermaid and the Sea-change Sailing Trust began many years ago now. I had just had my book ‘May Flower A Barging Childhood‘ published (2007) and in chapter one, I had written of my thoughts about barge reconstructions and the building a ‘replica’ in steel. Uncannily, during 2008/9 I learnt of…

Now, if you weren’t aware, at the top of the Harty Ferry hard on the Oare shore, there is a natural spring well. This has issued forth for well over one hundred years, but, sadly, it ceased running towards the end of 2018. Many thought that was that… I can remember going ashore here to…

I don’t usually count over the autumn season until September has passed by for so often the weather can continue to be ‘sublime’, however this year, the sparsity of rain enjoyed during the whole year changed and we have had some heavy deluges in natures attempt to even things out… We have also had to…

Some years ago whilst we were stopping at Maylandsea (Blackwater Marina), we met a couple who were aboard a catamaran. They hailed from The Gibraltar Point Sailing Yacht Club, south of Skegness. ‘Tucked just inside Gibraltar Point…’ the chap said, grinning. The club is at the southern foot of the febrile Lincolnshire coast in a…

Yes, we did, but first… Having had an enforced stay in the depths of lovely Wiltshire on ‘mother watch’ while kid sister was away swanning around the Ionian Sea, sailing, it was good to get back to the marshlands of the Thames estuary. While I was in Wiltshire, I ‘retrieved’ May Flower’s cabin lamp from…

Some weeks ago, I received an email from a lady, Glenna White, asking me if I would like a little pamphlet, Whitewall Barge Yachts, which she had come across in a second hand book shop. Glenna wasn’t asking for any payment, she just wanted it to go to good home and having found ‘me’ on…

Christobel and I were beginning to descend the Caen Locks, a famous flight in the inland waterways world, when I spotted something seemingly out of place. To sketch out why we were so far from the sea – we were in Devizes on ‘mother watch’ whilst my sister was in Greece for a spot of…

It began probably around fifteen years ago when I was writing about the saltings around Saltpan Reach, Stangate Creek and Sharfleet: Burntwick Island was my target. The book was: Rochester to Richmond, A Thames Estuary sailor’s View. See: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Rochester-Richmond-Thames-Estuary-Sailors/dp/1781556202/ref=sr_1_2?dchild=1&hvadid=80814204471414&hvbmt=be&hvdev=c&hvqmt=e&keywords=nick+ardley&qid=1599421560&s=books&sr=1-2&tag=mh0a9-21 Burntwick Island has long been of interest: my father always used to say the buildings left…

Our summer has been punctuated by latent strife, bubbling on beneath what has generally been a tranquil, warm and pleasant summer. It boiled over one day sailing into Stangate. But, that’s enough of that… As the Covid-19 phase three lock-down release approached, I reran Whimbrel’s halyards with new ones prepared during the late winter and…

Hauling out the chain from the locker when anchoring some while back during the period we were being allowed to go sailing for exercise, under the Covid-19 restrictions, I realised that my ‘rustier’ length of anchor chain had rusted much further since last used! The chain was purchased without really looking into where chains were…

This last week has been a wonderful week to be able to get afloat: the sun has blazed down, largely being too hot and sticky, but it has driven my good ship-mate down to our creek, reading and relaxing, whilst I’ve done a few small jobs. And, more importantly, to wanting to be afloat in…

A stalwart of the Finesse Group has had to place his near completed refurbed boat on the market. See: https://www.apolloduck.co.uk/boat.phtml?id=639051 Sadly, the reason being is due to a move to another country for work. The boat was purchased by the current owner some years ago from a yard round the Swale in Kent. Following various…

My last post, where I talked about the numbers of local yachting folk ignoring the requirement to return to main residence after a day (or a period) on the water, exercising, caused some ‘anger’ to surface out there. My use of ‘gets angry’ in particular, seemed to be a problem, but I did say quite…

Since the first easing of our Government’s Covid-19 restrictions, us sailors, boater, canoeists, paddle boarders, dinghy sailors and motor boaters etc, have been able to fulfil a long desired dream of time out on the water, in England – the devolved administrations are acting a little differently, as are some English regions. However, the requirement…

A fellow owner of a Finesse contacted to say that, reluctantly, he had decided to put his Finesse 21, Ivy May, up for sale. He has owned her for a dozen years or so. SORRY SHE’S SOLD! When the chap bought Ivy May, he wasn’t even married, but now, with two growing boys who take…

I have known Nancy Grey and her sister Dione for most of my life from around 11 years old. Both are barge-yachts, built by Shuttlewood of Paglesham on the River Roach. The build shed still exists, but little takes place there these days. The yard was being used to build/fit out house barges for the…

One of the first things I did when ‘locked down’ was to collect the cockpit floor boards for repainting. I also fitted a new lifting latch to one of them. If I was not going to be allowed to go sailing, I needed something other than the comforts of good wife, home, and walking to…

Yes, it is hard to accept that sailing is a feature of my life that is on hold currently. Even Christobel has a hankering to just get out there and feel the soft breeze caressing her cheeks. We know that along the tide lines, the saltings will be awash with an early greening. The first…

Following on from my last post: http://nickardley.com/ditch-crawler-and-mate-prepare-for-whimbrels-lift-out/ The plan to lift Whimbrel was put into operation some days before the Corona Virus (Covid 19) restrictions began to be applied. We had, however, been carrying out our own ‘isolating’ procedures for quite some time as certain people were deemed more vulnerable, however it transpired that my…