Category: wooden boat

The Medway barge match, 2013 – an accidental photo gallery

Out sailing on my own this weekend, I came across the Medway barge match. I’d completely forgotten it was happening, but soon got the idea when I saw them all trooping out past the SS Montgomery.

Anyway I got the little Samsung pocket camera out, and took these snaps – I hope you like them.

PS – Fowey boatbuilder Marcus Lewis has been in touch to say that there’s an old negative of the sailing barge Cabby up for auction on eBay. It doesn’t look like it’s in strong demand and I suspect the seller will have a few more up his sleeve. Thanks Marcus!

Ships and the Essex Coast – photos my father took in 1955-7

I love the atmospheric shots of Leigh Creek and Maldon. And talking of atmospheric, look at those ships at Tilbury – they were coal fired in those days and don’t you know it!

The young female figure is my Mum, but I guess you will have worked that out.

An update on the OGA’s 50th anniversary round Britain trip

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Old Gaffers in action. I hope they won’t mind me saying that…

The latest bulletin from the Old Gaffers Round Britain Challenge 10 UK and seven Dutch boats under way are now scattered along the south coast with the largest boat, pilot cutter Annabel J, the furthest west.

Annabel J has an AIS transponder so she can be tracked via live ships tracking sites such as www.marinetraffic.com – the other boats can be followed via the various blogs via links on the OGA’s special website www.oga50.org, where a new link combines data on the position of the boats from all available sources.

Earlier the boats attended a party and a parade of sail in Southampton, and had to delay for gales at Plymouth.

The OGA’s new historical travelogue website is following the progress of the fleet and illustrating its progress with fascinating stories from old accounts and images of the areas they pass.

Also check out the OGA remarkable website telling stories of the sea and our coasts: www.sailing-by.org.uk. For example, here’s Daniel Defoe writing pretty scathingly about Kent’s biggest South Coast port: Dover: freight, mail and mackerel