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Jack Daly shakes hands with our justly proud commodore, David Williams

The Hollowshore Cruising Club’s new premises were officially opened this weekend by one of its youngest and most venturesome members, Jack Daly.

Fitted out largely by the club’s members, the new premises are a credit to the volunteers who took on the work and to the club’s excellent chairman, David Williams. For more on the club itself, see its website.

I should explain that young Jack has just completed a round-Britain trip in his Coribee, named Padiwak. Some months before his 17th birthday, he left Ramsgate at the end of June this year, determined to get round before school started again. Supported by his amazing parents, who took turns to follow him round by road, Jack made it back to Ramsgate in mid-September after being delayed by weather – so he only missed a few weeks of his first term back. See Jack’s website.

In the process he raised £5000 for the Westbere Sailability Centre.

The poulpe colossal – don’t try catching this one!

I’ve been very entertained this week by this illustration from a book called Strange Sea Mysteries, published in 1926 and written by a chap called Elliott O’Donnell.

The preface is good too, and just the thing to read to children on a dark winter night:

‘In compiling this volume of unpleasant happenings connected with the sea great care has been taken to select those only that are authentic.’  July 1, 1926

The chapters include ‘The massacre on board the E A Johnson‘, ‘The Ship of Strange Smells’, ‘The Ramsgate Mystery’ and ‘The Great’The Corpse Box of Hell Gate’. Oooo-errr! I can’t find any copies at ABE Books but I’d guess that one is likely to turn up some day – and if you do it might make a good book to read out loud when afloat late one night…

These tales may be entertaining at this distance in time, but I wonder how many of these stories were real tragedies in someone’s life? Does anyone know?

Bill’s little boat Faith. Click on the image to see his videos showing her
making way

Bill Serjeant is currently sailing his remarkable little heavyweight 14-ft Paradox cruiser Faith from its home port at Burnham on Crouch along the South Coast down to the West Country, where he intends to meet and sail in company with another Paradox sailor Al Law.

As Bill’s weblog records, along the way he anchored for a time in our sailing ground, the Swale, before sailing out along the North Kent Coast. However, over the last couple of days he’s been waiting out some bad weather in Ramsgate Harbour, where he met Nigel Davidson, who is currently circumnavigating the UK in his pretty 24ft Hillyard-built yacht Patsy Rye. For an earlier post about Nigel and his journey, click here. Huge good luck to both of them!

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