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
Faversham Creek Trust chair Griselda Mussett makes such a strong and reasonable case in this video made by Easy Street Studio. Let’s all give her the support she needs.
While we’re thinking about opposing and developing appropriate alternatives to plans that worsen our living environments in the name of progress, those of you who know the fine city of Norwich might like to add their names to this petition condemning threats to remove long established houseboats in the city centre.
There were two great pieces of news at Hollowshore this weekend: Ham Marshes have been saved from the gravel-diggers, and the sailing barge repair business previously at Standard Quay in Faversham has arrived at Oare Creek.
Swale Borough Council’s planners are to be congratulated for making the right decision on the Marshes – it never did make any sense to destroy an internationally important habitat for wildlife, or to expand one business in a way that would destroy others.
Faversham’s loss of the sailing barge repairers is sad and unnecessary, but their arrival just yards from the wonderful The Shipwright’s Arms on the banks of Oare Creek is good news for the area’s boating community, and for the pub – and at least the repair business remains in the area.
It’ll be fascinating to see which vessels come in for repairs and restoration, and we can watch it all happening from our own mooring over a cup of tea and a slice of malt loaf…
‘When things get a little dull at home, when Dad has been a bit heavy with the belt, when lessons at school have become unbearable, along comes the ghost of a sailor and whispers in his ear “Why don’t you run away to sea?”
‘Sometimes the boy runs away, sometimes he doesn’t. But the dream always remains with him.’ This is another fine piece of film featuring sailing barges, even if it is accompanied by a generous helping of marvellously bonkers clap-trap!