It seems a long while ago now when I was in the Cotswolds with the mate on a tour of west Wessex… It was about the time of the first of the long line of lows that have struck Britain this winter. I seem to remember it came ashore in Devon and Dorset… It was a few days before I had a symbolic paddle in the River Windrush, knowing that perhaps by the time I got out sailing next I’d be in those same waters…

Paddling in the Windrush, photographed by my horrified and bemused mate last October…

Since then we’ve had storm after storm, tidal surges down the east coast and along parts of the south coast, and rain and more rain… I doubt if I’d be paddling in that tranquil spot now.

The Somerset levels have flooded, again this winter too – now here I can’t quite understand why the river at times was down, but the land flooded, and huge pumps were to be seen trying to do the impossible … what of rivulets, drains and sluices. Has the land been allowed to dry out, fen land fashion, leaving the rivers perched above. Something needs to be sorted or the land let go, but protect the inhabited ‘islands’ … many coastal and salt water river areas used to be like that…

In the mean time, amongst many other things, recently we (Me, the mate and two friends) had a wonderful day in London (Greenwich actually) viewing the current Turner Exhibition, Turner & the Sea. It runs until 21st April 2014 at the National Maritime Museum. This was brilliant … absolutely brilliant. The exhibition is split into periods and types of his works with the useful addition of works by other artists, often alongside Turner’s works.

A reproduction of a part page from brochure is below. It relates to a section of the exhibition dealing with storm works. In many ways it is rather apt (even tomorrow there are 60-70 mph winds expected all around). Against this picture I made some notes: with seas as big as Turner depicted and a ship about to be completely destroyed, no one in the curators department seemed to notice that the sprit rigged vessel – going to the rescue? – hadn’t been reefed … and has been shown under full sail. I don’t think so. Turner must have thought about it: there are a row of reef points clearly painted onto the sail, hanging ready…

Anyway, what Turner was doing was depicting, with oodles of licence, a storm and weather…

Turner’s painting – Wreck of a Transport Ship – it normally sits in the Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation, Lisbon.

Of course, now, the news is filled with graphic pictures of the results of weather. Housing along the Thames flood plain corridor in the counties to the west of London have been inundated with water. It is a sad and thought provoking sight.

The Prime Minister has promised to throw money at the problem … I hope it doesn’t come back and bite him: much of it is not preventable unless housing can be lifted a metre or so, the land too. And if flood dams are built, where will the next floods go…? Surely, they will come again…

Boats along the ‘lost’ river banks seemed to be largely riding out the problems though… But, our thoughts have to be with all those people affected, up and down our fair land.

I ordered some books from one of my publishers recently … delivery was arranged as per normal – with specific leaving instructions to leave in a specified dry place, if out.

Upon the mate and I returning home from a weekend away, we found amongst the mail on the door mat a delivery note – out I went to check that dry place. No box of books. Instead the box had been left beside our other car, on the ground…

It rained while we were away, so the water hungry cardboard box sucked up the wet from our brick paved front. The top received a dose of water running off the car. The books were wrecked, damp and out of shape!

The worst of it was to come: apparently an unnamed man had signed for them, an hour after the time on ‘my’ note according to the supplier! The name was of no one living in our vicinity (and anyway if you sign, surely you’d take in for safe keeping…!). The delivery instructions were very clearly marked though…

After discussing with the supplier I had to remove the front piece from each book and a page from anywhere else in each book … I got the mate to do it (even she ended up in tears) … then send off to the supplier for them to know that the books had been destroyed. It was heart breaking.

I now await additional copies while they ‘sue’ the delivery firm. I thought about naming them – they deserve it.

Here are two views of the partially dried out box with a damp patch showing on top … the inside was wetish. Dampened books don’t look very nice after this treatment! Mindless!

It was with much sadness, I’m sure, that many sailors will have learnt of the death of the Reverend Christopher Coutauld, one of Britain’s finest public spirited philanthropists. Christopher died at his home in Gosfield, Essex, on the 11th January 2014. My thoughts and that of the mate are with his family.

Christopher, after initially starting training as a barrister, moved to theology and became a churchman. Christopher had a long love of the sea and the rivers and creeks that fed it, spending much time sailing on the family’s yacht, this was not hampered even by being struck down with polio, like so many others of the period, as a youngster.

When Christopher’s father died the family yacht, Duet, was left to him. Christopher, with a friend, Chris Ellis, then went on to found the Ocean Youth Club. The ‘club’ has since helped many of Britain’s youth get afloat and experience the joys and tribulations that the sea can give.

The Duet, from Classic Boat files.

Christopher and other family members, who have all been partners in his family’s philanthropy, supported many charitable trusts and bodies. Amongst these is the Courtauld Institute at Somerset House, a place that regularly has excellent exhibitions of art – a place oft visited.

In our own world of sailing and apart from the Ocean  Youth Club, the Oak Trust (a foundation Christopher set up) has supported; the Cirdan Trust, who work with disadvantaged youngsters; the Nancy Blackett Trust, in their aim to keep Arthur Ransome’s old yacht, Nancy Blackett (Goblin in, We Didn’t Mean to go to Sea, and Secret Water), sailing and available for use; and one which is close to my own heart, The Sea-change Sailing Trust, the brain child of a long friend (skipper on Cirdan Trust vessels, especially the Xylonite) Richard Titchenor and others.

The Blue Mermaid – a replica will soon be ordered by the Sea-change Trust. Currently the trust charters either the Cambria or the Reminder. The new vessel will enable the trust to work a longer season and give their clients the opportunity to work a vessel under sail, alone, and achieve something together… They’ve trialed this with barges on charter … it works!

The Reminder being woked up towards Maldon under sail alone … after the trip one of the young men aboard said to me, ‘We only used the engine once all week …’ It was the last bit in along the promenade. His grin was grand indeed.

We could all help here…

For my part, I would have loved to have met Christopher and given him my own thanks for the work he has done in assisting the Sea-change Trust: I believe that their ethos is right.

The trust can be found at: www.seachangesailingtrust.org.uk

Rest, Christopher, rest…

During a ‘passage’ depositing family in Cambridge, doing the Anglia Afloat mini boat show in Suffolk and going on to Norwich to see an exhibition of East Anglian art at the Sainsbury Centre, the mate and I visited all our sister counties…

The display of works at the Sainsbury Centre, buried deep in the conglomeration of the University of East Anglia, was excellent, and thought provoking: our ancestors had an amazing gift for beautiful things – some finds were on view. Art is ‘bigger’ than paint on paper or some form of canvas.

What was clear from a very early stage was that the collection excluded anything to do with Essex: the Essex word was not mentioned once. Now, I accept the historic view that Essex was not part of the Anglian Kingdom – it had its own, but the borders were blurred with Essex and Suffolk swapping ground as time went by. I’m not a historian on these matters so rely on what I have read. This happened throughout history until the Normans stamped their mark upon Britain.

There was, however, a couple of things and another the mate pointed out, that left me cold: it is just snobbery to maintain that Essex is now outside the region.

Boudica’s (Queen of the Icceni) and the Trinovantes – an old Essex clan – sacked a few towns including London … bits at the exhibition are claimed to have been lost enroute back home (to what is now Norfolk, north Suffolk and east Cambridgeshire) … they came from Colchester – not mentioned as being in Essex – and clearly from the event curators view, not part of East Anglia … so what were they doing in the exhibition?

There was also a glorious set of paintings by the artist/writer James Dodds, b. 1957, titled, Cromer Crabber Salthouse Triptych – painted for an alter hanging for Salthouse Church and in the fashion of traditional medieval altarpieces. It was beautiful to look at, not just for the subject matter of an old traditional crabbing boat… No where was it mentioned that James Dodds was a Brightlingsea boy from Essex.

I am sure James will not ‘hit’ me for putting this here… It is grand.

Then there was one of the worst exhibitions of snobbery. Hanging towards the end of the trail was a painting by Edward Bawden, 1903 – 1989 who lived in Gt Bardfield, in south Essex, and Saffron Walden, and as we all know, is well within Essex too. I discussed the painting, titled, Ex Kruschen 1943 with a couple of other viewers: there were no details of why it was there. I assumed (rightly or wrongly) that it was an exercise for the expected battle scenario upon landing on the D-Day beaches in June 1944, the hinterland being similar, hence it is a piece of east anglian art … by another Essex Man.

There were a few Constables too … one tickled me for Constable was doing what he does in a lot of his paintings: gazing lovingly across the sleepy slow running Stour, over the flood plain towards the beautiful hills of Essex. Grand!

Although I left the exhibition with more than a little sourness, it is very much worth visiting and overall I enjoyed the experience, but…

The exhibition runs until 24th February 2014. Contact: www.scva.ac.uk

A little while ago I had a ‘discussion’ with a Finesse friend about boat shows … I last went to a major show, around 15 years ago, I think! Once one has what suits them what is the point in wandering, aimlessly, around looking at row upon row of very expensive craft. Now don’t get me wrong, I can appreciate craft of any sort: all have a purpose, if not beauty.

Beauty is in the eye of the beholder and although I appreciate GRP, it is not the be all and end all in the marine world. There are many craft out there manufactured using GRP which have sleek lines, good accommodation, go faster than most wooden or steel built craft and have a stated ‘low’ maintenance tag, but alas they’re not my type of boating… There are motor craft too, some good looking, many not so, but all were designed and built by humans for other humans to enjoy and cherish, which they do…

So, having been invited by Anglia Afloat to attend the small boat show at the Wherry Hotel, Oulton, I went along. As ‘we’ were dropping family (over from Canada) off in Cambridge that weekend I accepted. The mate had quickly chucked details of an exhibition of East Anglian art at me too … so we made a weekend of it in Norwich – more on that later…

First the show: It was small, but there were a number of good stands within the hall. Outside there were a number of motor craft, cruisers and launches on display, but no sail craft, even of the Broads variety, which was a surprise. One thing the mate commented on was the public address … it was poor!

I managed to have a chat to Anglia Afloat editor Garth Cooper soon after arriving, even though he was clearly busy! One of the things Garth is doing, is to increase the regional content of the magazine, in particular the coastal scene and ensure the southern half, outside the Broads, is fairly represented. This is something that has been growing since it grew out of Norfolk Afloat under the editorship of John Lawson. Likewise, the magazine covers the inland waterways of west Cambridge and adjacent counties. This is all good. We are a great region of boaters and have at our collective disposal a far superior mix than our south coast cousins, for instance…

Garth wants to do another show down the coast in a spot that seems suitable to me … I’ll leave the name drop out! It will be fairly central to the salt water sailors on the east coast … go for it Garth!

An English Harbour launch, above, and below, a simulated clinker launch – Corsiva – by Liberty Boats, who can be contactd at www.libertyboats.co.uk

Anyway, I enjoyed looking at a couple of launches – pictures attached. And we ended up buying a new ‘dinner’ set for the boat: when I picked up a plate it actually had weight to it … being like a set we had for 28 years until being sent ashore recently … currently our replacement flimsy picnic type set awaits a desperate future! The mate very quickly made up her mind too: she is the check and balance of the team!

Below is brochure cover for Galley Ware – see them at www.ShipShapeGalleyware.co.uk

Overall, I found the show to have been interesting, but somewhat thin on the ground … water too. it can only grow!

The 2014 Essex Book Festival is nearly upon us … a veritable feast of events are listed in the festival menu this year.

I shall be taking part in multi-author event on Wednesday 26th March 2014 at 1400. The session is around two hours long with a break.

The event has been titled: Schooldays, Heydays, Holidays Histories.

I will be giving a talk on the history of Alan Platt’s Finesse Yachts, Hadleigh & Thundersley’s boat builder. It will include unseen private photographs. The talk runs into what the boat means to me and what I do with her … that’s the ‘holiday’ part of the afternoon’s programme!

We all have a maximum of 30 minutes, to include the talk, slides and questions… Other participants are: Karen Bowman, talking about charismatic men of Essex; Bob Nichols with his historic Hadleigh postcards; and, new author, Chris Warpole with a look at the old village school in past times…

The event is at the Old Fire Station, Hadleigh. Prices are £5/£4 (concessions) and tickets can be obtained from the Mecury Theatre booking office on 01206 573948 or on line at: essexbookfestival.org.uk

Parking is available close by.

It will be nice to see a few seafaring folk amongst the gathering…

The Wapping Group of Artists annual exhibition takes place in February at the Mall Galleries. The gallery is situated just inside the Mall Gate from Trafalgar Square.

Having previously experienced an exhibition last year of paintings by the group and the exhibition of the Royal Society of Marine Artists last autumn I am sure it will be a worth while exercise. It is a must for all lovers of maritime and coastal art.

The Wapping Group of Artists range up the tidal Thames beyond Teddington, down river to the estuary, around the North Kent coast, including the Medway and Swale, then in and out of the Essex Rivers and up into those Suffolk ones we know so well…

Details are on the attached…

The Mall Galleries can be contacted on: www.mallgalleries.org.uk
Tel: 020 7930 6844

I have been fortunate enough to have been invited, with my mate, on the opening on Sunday 23rd February … we’re both looking forward to it greatly.

Sailing out of Smallgains Creek…

Hi All, My nephew who set this all up for me has decided I needed an update … so here goes, this is a try out…!

Well it worked. There are a couple of items that can be viewed from times gone by. I shall start afresh but information about art exhibitions and the Essex Book Festival will be put up again, shortly…

The forecast for a cruise up to the Orwell for a meeting of the east coast branch of the RNSA was not of the best. The weather has been somewhat indifferent since the end of March, however, undaunted, for there was a window of opportunity, I decided it was on and my crew joined as arranged.

Some while ago I took a friendly fan from New Zealand out for a sail on Whimbrel. The chap has done quite well while back in Blighty. Two sails on two different Finesse 24s and two sails up at Horning. The second was to take part in the 3 Rivers Race, which he thoroughly enjoyed.The mate and I had a convivial evening talking to him, and his charming wife, last night over beer (or two) and wine and nibbles. He’s chuffed with the way sailing folks have rallied to get him afloat. I know a Medway chap over at Lower Halstow, another of my readership, had wanted to treat our NZ sailor to a sail too. Alas, his time here runs short and that seemed unlikely as this goes to press. Soon the couple head off to Auckland – home for winter…

My friend sent me a batch of pictures from that famous harbour sometime ago, and as promised, with his sanction, I post a couple of classics photographed from his own cruiser … plus an old working vessel.

Gaff cutter Thelma, a true beauty, sailing hard in Auckland Harbour.

This fine ship was hard on the heels of the Thelma in first shot – those NZ guys take sailing seriously…

This picture fascinated me: I like it because it is of an old coastal trader. She is, I understand, essentially flat bottomed to allow reaching into shallow waters. They were built with centre boards. These little ships were the coastal sisters to our own evocative spritsail barge. Notice the Polynesian influence in her design with her kicked up prow … reminiscent of indigenous craft from the Pacific islands. Lovely!
Pictures courtesy of Paul Mullings, an ‘old’ Leigh-on-Sea man.