Gavin Atkin's weblog for the sort of people who like looking inside boat sheds. It's about old boats, traditional boats, boat building, restoration, the sea and the North Kent Coast
The Whitstable Maritime ande harbour campaign has got itself a lovely new website.
It is is continuing to work towards creating a viable and sustainable future for the harbour that includes tourism, heritage and education, and a purpose-built discovery centre on the harbour’s West Quay. The project has been the subject of a consultation that seems to have been largely positive – so it will be interesting to see how it progresses.
In the meantime, why not check out the website history page, and consider the navigation notes – apparently the current past the harbour mouth rushes along at up to three notes at half tide…
When a boatbuilder goes on a trip to the Algarve – a holiday, I’m guessing – what do they do? In my experience they usually find time to look at boats in among the other stuff.
Dorset boatbuilder Ian Baird (contact him here or here) has sent these pictures of the splendid replica of the Bom Sucesso, a caique reconstructed from a drawing of 1808 of a vessel that sailed the Atlantic Ocean from Olhão to Brazil.
‘The Portuguese were rebelling against the French Garrison.
‘Some and 17 men made the voyage on this boat to deliver the news that the French had been beaten and removed from the Algarve, to the King in exile, Dom João IV. They arrived at their destination in less than three months.
‘Cheers, Ian, your correspondent in Southern Europe… ‘