Medway, Swale and the Kent coast – Page 65

The Kingswear Castle – the Medway’s fabulous paddlesteamer

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Lean-lined paddlesteamer Kingswear Castle gets up speed on the Medway. As usual, clicking on each image will bring you a much larger and more detailed photo

‘So where are the photos of the paddlesteamer?’ a few folks have been asking. They were always next on my agenda, and here they are. The coal-fired paddle steamer Kingswear Castle was built in 1924 by Philip & Son of Dartmouth and regularly carried passengers up and down the River Dart until the 1960s, apart from a a few years in WW2, when she was leased to American forces in the area.

Kingswear Castle looking forward, looking aft, and looking into the engine room

The tea room is open; the bridge (rather splendidly, the captain uses a speaking tube to talk to his engineers); and the bowl of the Kingswear Castle’s outstanding washdown water closet, which is itself well worth a visit*

Maritime writer and historian David Williams‘ record or the history of the paddlesteamer around Britain over the past century mis available from Amazon: Paddlesteamers (Glory Days).

*This is British humour. If you’re not British, please forgive and forget any insult to your sensibilities.

Lovely 1961 clinker-built Norwegian motor-sailer for sale in Kent

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Nissa

THIS BOAT IS NOW SOLD

My friend Alan Thorne is selling his Norwegian motor sailer named Nissa. Photos of her can be found here: http://www.created4life.org/troll33.html

She was built in 1961 and is maintained to a high standard. She has a long keel, 3ft 6in draft and 9ft 6in beam, on an overall length of 33ft. With a clinker hull constructed with mahogany planks fastened with copper roves and nails to oak frames, she’s designed to be a safe, easy-to-sail yacht with attractive accommodation – one could easily live aboard her. She has two berths in the forward cabin, one cosy double and one short single in the main cabin.

Alan has enjoyed several sailing trips on the East Coast of England, and Nissa appears in Classic Boat magazine (Novemberissue, page 7) as part of last year’s Thames Festival Regatta at St Katharine’s Dock, London. Nissa also won the Otterham Cup for classic Bermudan yachts in the 2009 Swale Match.

Engine-wise, she has a Westerbeke 35hp 4 cylinder diesel engine and a 45-gallon stainless steel diesel tank, and she also has the usual selection of instruments and equipment. The latest survey was in Nov 2007, and its recommendations were carried out in 2008 and 2009.

Nissa is lying a berth in Oare Creek, Faversham, Kent, and is priced at £16,500 To view or sail her, call Alan on tel 07865091155.

Refurbished Thames barge Edith May at sea and sailing well

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Edward Gransden has kindly been in touch with these photos of the Thames sailing barge named Edith May, which has this month been sailing for the first time in ten years or more. Here’s what he says:

‘Please find attached a couple of photos from our first sail. We are intending to charter with individuals and groups up to 12 throughout the summer, operating from Lower Halstow, Chatham and Queenborough.

‘Having spent the past 10 and a half years restoring her, it was a great thrill to be able to take her out sailing for the first time, with her performance proving very pleasing. The Swale Match in August will be the first chance we get to see if she has retained the pace she was once renowned for!’

Thanks Edward! Any time you have photos and stories to share let me know.

It happens that we were over at Lower Halstow this weekend, and found the Edith May in the dock looking very smart. I took some shots with my camera phone – but I’m damned if I can get them out. It’s a better camera than you might think, but the connections and software make me curse!

Here’s an earlier post featuring the Edith May, and here’s a link to the Edith May website.

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