Some while ago an invitation to attend the preview day of the annual exhibition of paintings by the Wapping Group of Artists. The date was duly put in the diary. It is amazing how these things race up on you – like the approach of our fortieth wedding anniversary which seemed an age away but…

Dick Durham has been around a bit. He learnt the craft of the swatchways in his childhood, dabbled amongst old barges with various friends and even sailed aboard my sailing home, the spritsail barge May Flower, in his early teens. Dick was the last trading sailing barge mate. After signing off of the spritsail barge Cambria…

At the moment I am railing somewhat at the dastardly weather we’re enduring. We’ve not had a huge amount of rain, but there has been enough dampness, surely. What we have had this winter are bucket loads of wind, which have also slotted perfectly into the days when tides have been useful. It has been…

Although we lived on Canvey Island for some 23 years we had never walked ‘out west’. It was until recent times open farm land – grazing in the main – but a few years ago the RSPB got their hands on a section. A scrape or two has been made to create shallow freshwater pools…

Last Friday my Mate and I trundled up to London Town to visit the Tate and take in a play (Lady Windermere’s Fan at the Adelphi – good!). We enjoyed a bit of the illuminated art too. The Tate has, currently, an exhibition about ‘The Impressionists in London’ detailing some of the varied works of…

Ah yes, it’s been a lousy start to the year around the Thames estuary. We’ve enjoyed bucketful’s of wind and Whimbrel has sat in lonely ‘silence’ awaiting her day. Last year we were out on day one! Last year (2017) had been one of the best sailing year’s we can remember. The boat was in…

The 2018 Essex Book Festival brochure is now out on the streets. I have been booked for an event at Canvey Island Library for Tuesday 20th March at 1930. See details on link: https://essexbookfestival.org.uk/event/nick-ardley/ Love to see some of my ‘readers’ at the event…

The New Year is already passing by, but unlike last January when there were more quiet days, we’ve enjoyed a ‘bit of a blow’ across the country. Very heavy further north, but into the 60 mph zone along the Thames. To say the least, any thoughts of a sail on any tide this last week…

Season’s greetings to all… A friend up the road in Daws Heath sent me a young fir tree to haul aloft. Chap, John, used to grow trees but has long since ceased, but his land is ‘loaded’ with various trees and saplings. He likes the idea of a tree going afloat. Whimbrel taken by a…

The autumn hasn’t been the best for getting out. When the weather has been ‘fit’ the tide has been out, but after a cold period with snow and ice on the run up to the Christmas period all has been calm… My good Mate has been busy sitting round cosy fires and hot jugs of…

A little packet dropped through my letter box yesterday, during a day trip up to Greenwich to see the special exhibition about Franklin’s North-west Passage debacle 170 years ago… Anyway, it was a nice gesture of the BBC. Good picture eh! The Mate and I have watched the programme through again – rather good overall.…

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…