For some while now the May Flower’s bob stick has been hanging on an old boot lace lashed to a central heating pipe in the corner of my study (cum put-me-up), gathering dust… It occurred to me that it could have a better use. May Flower’s bob stick, with topmast ring and acorn… So, to…

Essex Book Festival 2018   Some while ago I was asked by the chair of the Essex Book Festival to participate in the 2018 programme – silly to say no!   Nick Ardley is honoured to be participating in the 2018 Essex Book Festival.   This event is probably the most prestigious of any in…

For information I shall be at the Salty Dogs Gallery in Maldon on the evening of Thursday 30th November to message and sign copies of my latest book, Rochester to Richmond: A Thames Estuary Sailor’s View. Salty Dogs Christmas Show (Gallery) is located at No. 11 Market Hill, Maldon, Essex. CM9 4PZ. It would be…

Yes, I know, the weather people say autumn starts on the 1st September, but I’m a die-heart and take absolutely no notice of that. The seasonal change is officially the equinox on 21 September, but we’ve been enjoying such gorgeous weather that I think autumn clearly began yesterday, 1st November! I had two nights away…

News! Book event aboard the Edith May in Lower Halstow Dock, Lower Halstow, Kent. Event is on Saturday 11th November, 1030 to 1600. Parking available. The dock is off Lapwing Drive just after triangle or past pub. Tea/coffee and cake, and also soup and crusty bread will be available. If anyone is definitely coming along…

Well before the ‘sailing season’ my good Mate, Christobel, saw a piece tin the Times about an upcoming exhibition about Nelson at the Castle Museum in Norwich. ‘Let’s go…’ I immediately chirped, adding, ‘…we can stay overnight.’ So we did. Earlier this week we set off up the A12 and took the long route to…

Some while ago I did some filming with the BBC for a programme to be titled, a Floating History of Britain. This has materialised upon completion and immanent screening into ‘Britain Afloat’. The programme brief was to describe the history in brief of various vessels and look at the way they had survived with new…

Dick Durham who is a member of the prestigious Island Yacht Club based on the eastern end of Canvey Island tells me that he is buying a boat for ‘ditch-crawling’ – she’s a vessel built in 1921 at Leigh-on-Sea. This means his beloved Wendy May has to go. Wendy May showing her flowing lines after…

We had this in the diary before we’d even left the festival last year, and it will again be entered, hovering over a weekend in September 2018. The weather for Friday looked a little ‘iffy’ with rain showers expected (we got some!), but not too windy – but with sunshine forecasted for Thursday, I sped…

As I have been away from home I haven’t been able to see a copy of Rochester to Richmond in the ‘flesh’, however, now I have: my good mate, wife Christobel, has purchased her own copy… She was in floods of tears as she showed it to me! Silly ‘old’ thing! Rochester to Richmond: A…

One of the joys of cruising the east coast is the way one often meets with old friends. These may be people or craft in my mind. Here though I shall specifically refer to various craft met before. One of the places I really enjoy is Woodbridge. Not for the town alone: along the shore…

In the past couple of weeks we have been subjected to a few cases of poor etiquette, so it has occurred to me that perhaps this is an area of sea going lore that is on the wain, or sadly, has died. Currently we are sailing on the River Deben. We had sailed up to…

‘Let’s go to Bridgemarsh,’ I said to my Mate when planning our last few days on the Crouch and Roach. Bridgemarsh marina (boatyard) sits up the named creek inside Bridgemarsh Island which was flooded many years ago. It was once farmed and also had a brickworks. The old hard still runs across. The island is owned…

My dear wife and Whmbrel’s Mate had given up her place to allow my sister and two friends to sail aboard the good ship and one of the places we wandered into was Wivenhoe, a place I’d not been to for some while, favouring Rowhedge! We’d spent the night in a quiet little spot beneath…

Well, the full cover pdf has arrived. One small change to wording of the blurb in hand, but I have decided to post as is… Rochester to Richmond Full Cover   I hope all can open the ink. It’s marvelous what can be done out at anchor these days, I was talking earlier to a…

Long ago a chap from New Zealand contacted with words of support and admiration for my writing – something I always find difficult to handle! During the intervening years this fine fellow has fed me with snippets of information and sometimes whole ‘e’ books found on the web. Some years ago I took the chap…

Last weekend we sailed away from our home waters and made for Queenborough – it was my birthday weekend. I fancied a pie at the Old House at Home. Which we did, after sampling the brews at a new little mico-pub on the lane leading to the creek harbour. Huge numbers of Dutch yachts were…

How many times have you leant awkwardly over the bow of your craft to reach down to a mooring buoy with a boat hook to catch an eye? More often than not the ‘eye’ is a shackle which is resting on its side. The bow is moving up and down to wash and wind waves.…

It all seemed a very long time ago when I said to my wife and shipmate, that I would like to make a go of a passage up the London River to view the tall ships which were due to congregate for a parade start to their seasonal voyaging. This year the series runs in a…

Some weeks ago a new member of my yacht club shocked me with a report that the Blackwater Marina was being closed down. This struck me as odd: I keep my ear close to the ground and had been looking ‘them’ up fairly recently… The informant has kept his vessel on the Blackwater for a…