Bridlington Sailing Coble Festival, 13th-14th August

Coblegram Special Edition Bridlington

Coble enthusiasts are planning a Sailing Coble Festival at Bridlington on the 13th–14th August this year, which sounds like a great idea.

It is being organised by the Bridlington Sailing Coble Preservation Society and The Coble and Keelboat Society, and is sponsored by the local Independent Shellfishermen’s Co-operative, and will bring together the largest gathering of sailing cobles anywhere in the British Isles in recent years.

Four locally based sailing cobles, Three Brothers, Imperialist, Madeleine Isabella and Gratitude; will be joined by the two new cobles; Free Spirit and Misnomer. Christina from Mevagissey and Grace from Staithes will also attend, and a number of other coble owners have expressed interest – and there is even talk of the North East Maritime Trust attending with the coble Royal Diadem II and a 40ft restored seine net keelboats.

Read all about it in the latest Coblegram.

 

Jennie of Paglesham needs a new owner

Jennie of Paglesham 1

Things have not gone as Classic Boat 2013 personality of the year Giacomo de Stefano has hoped – and he’s looking for either a new owner for Jennie of Paglesham or a suitable collaborator. Drop me a line at gmatkin@gmail.com and I’ll forward your message to Giacomo. (The photo above is not recent.)

A key point for him is that she should not be simply a leisure yacht, but that she should remain in Faversham, where she’s currently lying, and be used in efforts to encourage young people to sail.

I don’t know how practical that might be, but it seems obvious to me that the more people, including young people, use the Creek and the Swale and beyond,  the more they will be  appreciated and the stronger their protection.

Jennie is an interesting small cutter, and there is some intriguing mystery attached to her. Could she include timbers from the Beagle? Read about her here and here – and clock what Maurice Griffiths has to say about her here: The Other Man’s Boat.

The Whitstable Maritime project has a new website

Whitstable Maritime website

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…