Well, it had to be done … the night before I’d been at the Oval cricket ground watching Essex dismantle Surrey, though reading the report in The Times, I was clearly at a different match, however… In the Medway barge match and the others that take place during the season, reporting tends to of a more accurate nature … Surrey’s team of allstars including ‘KP’ struggled to 151 … the great man thumped a sure six straight down the ground … only for it to be snatched from the air. The Surrey fans were up on their feet waving ‘6’ banners … the catch was met with a huge chorus of jublation around the ground – was this a home game, I thought as I stood chanting for Essex! Essex looked on course to knock these off in around 15 overs, but still strolled to a grand victory. Hey Ho!
KP in full flow – second ball – before lofting a catch!
Early on Saturday, a little bleary eyed, we arrived at the boat and were away from our mooring in Smallgains Creek a little before high water. We made a fast passage across to the Medway and made comfortably over the ebb inwards. I had to tack near Cockleshell Beach: I wasn’t going to clear the Gas Jetties sticking out into the slackish water here … Going across to Blackstakes the sky, a uniform grey with a sun peaking out earlier had turned a deep blue/black … I called to my mate, below, that we needed to reef. It was a good call for we were soon bucking short sharp seas that threw up showers of stinging salt – the mate muttered (a little) about what we were doing. My mind was on the barges approaching from the murk ahead of us…
The fleet approaches off Burntwick Island – note the rain bouncing off cabin top! Fleet then led by Niagara, followed by Cambria with Edith May chasing (she caught up quickly…) then there was the EDME…
Edith May sweeps past the Cambria in the squall…
We were soon amongst the barge fleet broad reaching towards us at some speed led by the ‘Medway Queen’ the Niagara, closely followed by the lovely Edith May… Cambria and Edme were hot on their heels with Adieu, and then Repertor, strangely, lagging behind. Her anchor seemed to be below her forefoot: surely a hand brake of sorts … I saw four men eventually heave it up… By then the rain shower and squall had gone a brightness quickly followed. It lit the Repertor wonderfully…
EDME powering past as the rain went as suddenly as it had come…
The Mirosa…
The Adieu…
The ‘hand brake’ was now off…
We were following by then, and I slid over towards the ‘no go area’ off the gas jetties to give the Repertor more room. I hope her skipper noticed! A Finesse sloop hasn’t a hope of keeping up with a barge in the conditions and with a reef in we pottered on behind with the Centaur slowly overhauling us … we caught her up for a short while, then she went away and all were gone. I shook our reef out…
The fleet heads out past Sheerness (Garrison Point)…
We then followed out to No.4 buoy. By then the sun was beaming down on us from a blue sky filled with fluffy white clouds. Beautiful…
I watched as all the barges rounded, some clearly doing better than others. The EDME then powered up and began to out run her sisters with Mirosa gamely hanging on. I was pleased to see Edith May make up on the Niagara (I’m not biased…) and, it has been reported, win her class.
Perfect sailing weather…
A big well done to all participants should be recorded … I was a little saddened to see a similar sized fleet sitting quietly in St Katharine Dock on Friday afternoon … clearly they weren’t going to take part. Why? Wouldn’t it have been grand to have seen fourteen … sixteen barges out there. Oh well!
Oh yes … I left my new panama hat at the cricket ground … the mate is going to buy me a new one, saying, “as long as you enjoyed yourself…” It was a great two days!