Chatting to another sailor a little while ago, the subject of my own and Whimbrel’s moments on film came up. So I thought I would do something about it!
I have been involved with the BBC and others on a number of occasions. Recently, I found a BBC piece made for BBC Southeast way back in 2009, following the publication of my book, ‘Salt, Marsh & Mud.’
As it later turned out, the BBC filming wasn’t my last!
So, here we go.
The first is a link to my facebook page, where I have posted a 2009 piece for a BBC Southeast news magazine. I took a reporter (Robin Gibson) and a film recordist out sailing on the River Medway. See:
https://www.facebook.com/nick.ardley/videos/1578276512382610/
The second is a link to a much more recent BBC Southeast film recorded in September 2020 about Dr Sidney Bernard’s grave on Burntwick Island in the River Medway.
Note: there is an overlong introduction from a previous BBC piece about Deadman’s Island, which I criticised!
The film can be found on youtube by ‘bashing’ in to a search engine: Deadman’s Island II
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dulwv6v40z4
The third is a link to the page of The Dartford & Crayford Creek Trust.
At the 2020 Heritage Awards which took place on HMS Belfast in November, the Dartford & Crayford Creek Trust were presented with an achievement award at an event aboard HMS Belfast, in Pool of London. In the recording, spot brief shot of Whimbrel at start! See:
https://www.facebook.com/watch/?v=449158262716608
There is a further post from Dartford & Crayford Creek Trust which has a series of still and film clips of Whimbrel sailing out of Crayford and Dartford creeks during August 2020. See:
There is a YouTube film about families being brought up on Thames spritsail barges, made by Simon North.
Simon came for a sail on Whimbrel and carried out an interview whilst aboard. Clip here has a section aboard Whimbrel. See:
https://www.facebook.com/simon.north.7509/videos/1470849960104908/
Another YouTube film was posted by Paul Mullings from Auckland, New Zealand. It was a late afternoon sail up Hadleigh Ray and Benfleet Creek, whilst on a visit ‘back home’…
See:
This is the Bob Aylot film of Whimbrel taken for Bob’s Classic Boat records: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dulwv6v40z4
There is also an episode in the Mary Ann Ohota BBC series on ‘Boats that made Britain’. Sorry, Whimbrel doesn’t feature at all!
I was asked to take part in the episode about spritsail barges moving from traders, to use as sailing homes, house barges and into the era of life as charter barges.
The final piece as released was not completely as expected: it dwelt on ‘playing’ on a barge during a barge match on the Thames for far to long – nice television, but distanced from the subject matter the BBC discussed with me!
There isn’t a link, although I do have a DVD – which won’t help you!
Film taken from Whimbrel of the spritsail barge Cambria coming alongside the Queenborough All-tide Landing on 9 September 2022.
See: https://www.facebook.com/nick.ardley/videos/803831823963767
Back in 2009, I was approached by BBC Essex following the publication of ‘Salt Marsh & Mud A year’s sailing on the Thames Estuary‘ for they wanted to do a weekend morning series of radio clips from Whimbrel.
I took the then weekend presenter afloat with a sound recordist and a series of five programmes resulted. The programmes detail sailing off the Southend foreshore from Canvey Point and up to the Benfleet barrier above the Benfleet YC thence to home berth.
The programmes were recorded for me by a Island YC member now long deceased.. These have now been digitised and converted to a MP4 single unit.