The Queenborough Harbour Trust began putting on a traditional boat festival some seasons ago. Last year (2017) there was on the whole a very successful event, albeit that a ‘raft’ of yachts did not pitch up. My understanding was that some 2, 500 people visited over the weekend. enjoying host of yachts, the spritsail barge Cambria and a number of little tugs including the Kent, a relic of Knights once majestic fleet. These latter vessels I do not consider to be ‘traditional’ in the yachting sense, however they deserve their place.
This year it was very different at the 2018 festival.
As a forerunner to the festival, in a way, I’d read on the Medway and Swale Boating Asssociation web site a paper written by the current chair, Brian Corbett, about the Medway & Swale basin holding a large part of the national reserve of maritime heritage afloat and much more along its shores…
http://msba.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2018/09/RIVER-MEDWAY-WORLD-HERITAGE-CENTRE.pdf
Bow of Finesse 21 Ivy May and Finesse 24 Whimbrel
But first…
We set off from our moorings on Canvey Island, Essex, in Whimbrel on Thursday on a glorious early afternoon to ensure we were across the Thames as the forecast for Friday was a little confusing. The weather was absolutely benign with a reasonable westerly blowing down the estuary. It was a ‘get over there run’ with a little engine power to break the back of the spring tide in Sea Reach. Engine silenced, we whooshed past Grain Fort some twenty minutes before high water, crossing on the inside…
Passing inside Grain Fort…
A deep tack took us to Swale Ness and after a very short length of time it was obvious that to make our ‘westing’ the diesel would be needed: it doesn’t do one’s soul good when the next tack begins to track you down from whence you’ve just come … reaching Tailness the engine was once again silenced and we forged over the ebb to anchor down the west shore along Greenborough Marsh.
The late afternoon gave way to a night to remember – we were one of around five craft anchored there.
I popped off in the dinghy whilst cooking supper …
A glorious sky over Greenborough…
Supper over, I again pottered off for a little sail in the Twitch the tender, while Christobel cleared away. After a short but enjoyable potter listening to the goings on along the mud edges I returned to light the riding light and let the world know where we were should it come crashing up Stangate!
The soft glow of the cabin’s oil lamps flickered across the barely ruffled surface…
During the late evening numerous stars shone down upon us and across the sky and from around five hot air balloons, orange glows which every now and then flickered out, passed over adding to the enchantment. And, along the mud edge waders squabbled over territory before the a quiet descended…
The morning was rather different. The boat was rocking and rolling to a northerly induced wind over tide popple. With breakfast over we decided to set off early for Queenborough.
Tacking out of Stangate…
Near Blackstakes with deck awash at times we hit a bit of a wave … Christobel said it was the first time she’d had spray this summer…
It hit me too, which is most unusual: I usually duck behind her…
Then, passing Queenborough Spit we dumped the jib and sailed on under mainsail until well inside the harbour. A cheerful call back from ‘Sheppey One’ told us to pick up one of two buoys, which we duly did. The weather changed as we sailed in from the spit buoy. The sky, so grey and threatening, had broken and a ‘summer’ blue returned and with it heat!
With bags of time on our hands we went off ashore and enjoyed a walk out to the Morrison’s complex beyond Rushenden. It is a pleasant walk if you take the first right hand turn after the rail bridge, opposite the CoOp … and follow the pathway along the old creek. There is a pub up there and other outlets…
At Queenborough changes are afoot. On the way in I’d seen that the old commercial mooring buoys had gone and new trots were in the process of being laid. Alongside the walkway to the All Tide Landing, a floating crane barge was sat upon the mud flats. Men were busy dropping in piles and connecting securing brackets. A recent ‘notice’ had told of this. Finger pontoons are due to be fitted too on the flats on the northern side.
Walkway piling…
Returning to Whimbrel we watched as the ‘first’ of the weekends craft arrived.
The bawley, Doris.
Soothsayer, a Hilliard 30′ aft cockpit 8 tonner TM, sloop.
Soothsayer berthing alongside another majestic vessel. the Amaris.
The Amaris is a one off built at Sutton Boat Builders at Great Wakering in Essex. She was designed by A. P. Bayzand of Wooton, Isle of Wight. She measures 32′ by 9′ 6″ with a draft of 3′ 6″ and 6′ 6″ with her centre plate down. She’s a ’10-tonner’ in Thames measure parlance. Her owner is a proud man indeed … sadly his wife is not a sailor, something all too common. However, she had dispatched owner and crew (a Finesse 24 owner) away with a ‘freezer’ full of pre-cooked grub. The boat had sailed round from Pagglesham that morning…
Afternoon tea Aboard Whimbrel.
Domesticity aboard Amaris…
The ex Knights tug Kent.
View across Soothsayer taking in Doris and the little river tug Sir Hendrix.
Visitors boarding Doris on the Saturday.
The little clinker yacht Hjordis sat all alone on the inside of an empty pontoon.
One view over the main-stay of the traditional fleet…
And another…
The parsimonious numbers of visiting human beings – at one stage there seemed to be more dogs than the former – left plenty of time to wander aboard other vessels. The visitor numbers were well down on the event of last year … I wondered if ‘they’ had got wind of the fact that many of the owners who initially said that they would attend, hadn’t. The turn out was VERY POOR.
There was a busy-ish period for a little while after I’d way-laid punters on the pontoon who didn’t seem to know that ‘we’ were open … being, actually, the traditional fleet. A total of six.
Doris’s mast base with a network of rope…
Doris’s owner in deep conversation with the proud owners of Soothsayer which berths at Hundred of Hoo YC.
Sunday came round and as soon as the boat alongside us departed we were away too. A couple of sailing/boating acquaintances came aboard during the last part of the event … one leaving almost as we let go! It was nice to see them. Both agreed that it was a poor do…
Whimbrel sailing into Smallgains Creek on the eastern end of Canvey Island. We ‘dumped’ sail as our mooring reared up and slid in home…
Right: here is the moan. But firstly, I should say that we enjoyed meeting some new people, however, both of us felt that we’d ‘thrown’ an opportunity to sail round to Conyer for an overnight stay and visit to The Ship…
I felt especially saddened for the people at The Queenborough Harbour Trust. I told a member of the MSBA that if yacht owners don’t support these events then they won’t happen. And, especially in light of the recent paper published on the MSBA web site in which the proposed purpose is to activate the authorities to recognise the extent of the maritime heritage that floats on these waters, let alone that which is still evident along its edges. And to provide facilities and events ?? to assist in the maintenance of this heritage.
Now, if I was a local authority ‘big-wig’ looking out at the collection of vessels at Queenborough – less than on a normal yachting weekend – I’d say, ‘Stuff you. You can’t even support what’s on now…’
Food for thought!