Ramsgate inner harbour

Bonita spent the day in the Heritage section of Ramsgate inner harbour. Several Gaffers have gone on a trip up the tortuous river Stour to Sandwich, but we stayed put as a) we've done it before, and b) we were expecting visitors.

Allan came by car with Toby and Martha for a boat inspection and a dinghy trip around the inner harbour. The picture shows Toby getting to grips with the art of oarsmanship, with a little bit of supervision.

The Heritage area of the harbour is next to a busy bit of the town. By day Bonita a number of admiring comments which are always gratifying. However at night this part of town benefits from a lively night life that does seem to go on very late.

In the evening the Gaffers enjoyed a fish and chip supper at the Sandwich Sailing and Motor Boat club on their converted Dutch barge. A jolly evening ably organised by Robert and Jan Holden, whose lovely boat Emanuel is kept in Sandwich.

Ramsgate!

With Ant and Justin as crew we set off at 5.30am from the Swale with a pleasant SW breeze. By midday we were in Ramsgate where the OGA 60 Round Britain cruise starts. There are a few Gaffers here already. Some are going on a short trip up the river Stour to Sandwich, but we are staying here for the weekend.  

The picture shows the Dutch sailing ship (a brig) Morganster in harbour and apparently taking on passengers for Ostend. She was built in 1919 and has enjoyed a colouful history.

Other Gaffers here include the smackyacht Mutual Friend - built by John Tyrrel and once kept in Faversham, Barbarossa that has sailed round the world, Martin Goodrich's lovely Onward of Ito and the Dutch boats Recipe and Hilda. Ramsgate inner harbour is convenient for supper at the excellent Royal Temple Yacht Club with a fine view of the harbour.

In the mud

 On Monday Bonita was lifted back into the water by the yard crane. Though they handle her very carefully this is always an anxious time. Bonita is close seamed construction - there is no caulking in the hull between the planks. The water is kept out by the close fit of one plank against another. The trouble with this is that if the boat dries out at all, or maybe even with the strain of lifting her by crane, the planks shrink and open up a little. She always leaks a bit after she has been put back in the water - quite a bit, so it can look rather concerning. I set up an electric bilge pump and usually after a few days with the combination of Faversham creek mud and the wood expanding in the wet, the leaks dry up. She has to stay in a mud berth until the bilges are dry though, it wouldnt be a good idea to take her out to her mooring yet.

Any attentive readers may note that I had her lifted out and did a lot of work to fix a small leak, but on putting her back in the water we found we had a larger leak. Yes indeed, but with luck it will all be alright in the end.

The picture shows Bonita sitting in the mud in the yards crane berth. The tides out so thankfully the leaks have stopped for a while. Behind her, under the blue cover is a large classic motor cruiser having an seemingly endless refit, and the sailing barge Orinoco under her polytunnel winter cover. The next day we craned the mast in and generally started getting the boat ready for the new season. I havnt yet seen a Charles III coin so I wasnt able to put one under the mast step for good luck as is traditional. However I'm sure one of the old Queens coins will do the job just as well.