52nd Swale Race

Yesterday we took part in the Swale Match, I think the only race where the Thames Barges, smacks and gaffers race together. We - and everyone else- had almost perfect conditions, mostly NW force 4. We had a very capable crew of D, Allan John and Martha.

For Martha (aged 6) this was her first sail on Bonita. 

The picture below, taken by Mary Gibbs from the smack ADC shows Bonita about to start the race.

Sadly Bonita didnt win any of the prestigious prizes, but we had a fine sail, and I was intetested to see a couple of barges that I dont remember seeing before in the Swale.

Will ( originally Will Everard) was one of the largest barges ever built- in steel-  and after a long career carrying cargoes now earns her living in corporate hospitality.

Seagull II is one of the smallest barges ever built, a half size barge built to carry explosives for the Admiralty at a time when the early internal combustion engines were thought to pose an unacceptable fire risk. She was rebuilt a few years ago and looks lovely, although the scaled down barges were never very fast.

And home...

 This morning at low water Toby had his first sail in sole charge of Eel, although never far from helpful advice from his Dad.

Then as the tide rose we motored from Queenborough, through the Swale, under the lifting rail bridge at Kingsferry and back to our moorings at Harty Ferry. So ends a short East Coast cruise, and as always it is much more fun with two boats and two dinghies

Queenborough

We got up at 5am to catch the tide from Brightlingsea ( though Toby arranged to stay in bed). We managed to keep a fair tide all day which was just as well as there wasnt very much wind. At just about low water we were crossing the sands of the Wallet Spitway - no problem: Bonita had around 1m under the keel, and Pretty Penny had around 40cm. Luckily there wasnt much swell.The pictures show Pretty Penny and Bonita under way in light airs.

We are now on the Isle of Sheppy at Queenbough, named after Edward III s wife, Queen Philippa. I havnt been here for a few years and find they are building a fine new causeway over the mud to improve access to the water. Years ago Queenborough was blighted by the smell from a glue factory, and you had to pay a small boy a few pence to look after your dinghy or risk some kind of unpredictable mishap. The glue factory is long gone and Queenborough is now greatly improved and a pleasant little town. We thought the best bit was probably the fine 14th century church.

Tired after a long day ( except Toby) we had supper cooked by D on Bonita.

Despite much of the river being crowded with yacht moorings, there is some - relatively- large shipping emerging from the Swale.

Brightlingsea

On Tuesday we motored up to Titchmarsh marina in the depth of the Backwaters and walked the couple of miles into Walton. I hadnt been there for a few years. The town centre now seems almost entirely given over to tourism with rows of small cafes etc. With so many catering for what is presumably a seasonable trade its surprising that so many can stay in business. On the edge of town there are a couple of large supermarkets which I dont remember from our last visit, but which must drain some money from the High Street. Alistair was looking for some new Wellington boots as one of his is leaking. Not of the shops we saw in Walton stocked anything as practical as boots.

So today we left at half tide and light northerly winds bought us to Brightlingsea. Despite neglecting to radio ahead, we were welcomed by the harbourmaster and had an excellent supper in The Yachtsman pub close to the waterfront.

The picture shows Toby, aged 8, rowing Eel without any (direct) supervision. His seamanship skills have definitely developed a lot in the last few days.

Walton Backwaters

A day spent exploring parts of the Backwaters. Toby went sailing in Eel with Allan as crew, and as the picture shows he is definitely doing well. There is no doubt that the best way to learn to sail is in small boats, and Eel with her little lug rig is about as simple as a sailing boat can be.

We moved both boats from Hamford Water to Stone point where there was a party of teenagers on the shingle, very possibly celebrating the end of A levels. Unfortunately while making a wide turn - the only type we  can do-  in a narrow channel Bonita ran aground. We had to wait an hour or two before we could kedge her off, a process which resulted in a lot of gelatinous mud coming aboard. We cleaned all this off and eventually all had supper in Bonitas cabin with a thunderstorm in progress outside. So a day which resulted in the boats only moving a mile or two, but nevertheless a fair bit going on.