The barge-yacht Tiny Mite had been put on the market back in 2020 due to the then owner’s age related health issues. The old girl was out of the water a ‘jolly long time’ during a very long refit when she finally went back in. During 2021 Tiny Mite was lifted ashore by the Leigh Motor Boat club’s yard team as the poor thing was taking in water.
Soon after her relaunch and rigging out.
I was contacted by a friend of the owner about her sale and it was said that ‘they’ wanted her to go to a good home. My advice was to allow her to go to the highest bidder: the old girl needed attention. That advice was ‘pooh poohed’ However, look what happened…
Older post with links:
During walks along the downs and around the seawall bordering Two Tree Island I often stopped and looked at the gradually worsening state of the little barge. It was sad to see, but is something so often seen when a owner just doesn’t want to let their baby go. The time will face me at some point, but I have drilled myself for that day!
Picture from 2024.
During this summer I saw a huge number of similar craft, but whilst on an overnight stay at Halfpenny Pier, Harwich, the mate and I walked into Dovercourt for a few stores – where we found both poverty and a very nice top rate bistro-cafe and delicatessen which seemed completely out of synch with the world around it – be that as it may, Dovercourt waterfront is very different to the down at heel town’s high street.
On the way back, I spotted the familiar sight of the Tiny Mite’s sawn off transom in the front garden of a property on the edge of Harwich town itself.
‘Bloody Hell,’I said to Christobel’s astonishment.
I pointed and she immediately recognised the object too.
Clearly the old girl had suffered the fate of a chain saw. A day or so later on a ‘barge’ facebook page an advert of bits of the Tiny Mite were shared from an ‘ebay’ page.
As seen on a front drive…
It was an extremely sad sight to see but nonetheless, it wasn’t completely unexpected for after a sale of the barge-yacht to a new owner, nothing, but nothing happened. Her bow opened up and there was a length of rot in her midships area near forward end of her starboard leeboard.
More recently, walking past the Leigh Motor Boat Club, I spotted her spars in a pile still sitting on the hard standing next to the chocks that once supported the Tiny Mite in her last berth.
Tiny Mite’s spars… Note the mast case too!
Those spars may have a use, but I suspect a bonfire beckons…
Christobel and I have an abiding memory of Tiny Mite coming down Hadleigh Ray from Benfleet one glorious Boxing Day. It was in the days of 35mm cameras and mine had been left at home so there is no pictorial record. The Tiny Mite had a bit of sail up but also a giant red ensign was flying too. It was glorious.
The event is recorded in my book, ‘Salt Marsh & Mud…’ in the last chapter, Festive Cheer.
We are both glad of that memory.