Maldon Little Ship Club Table-Top Sale

Ahoy all mariners! Please make a note in your log books.

Sunday, March 30.

 There will be a treasure trove of boat bits on offer when Maldon Little Ship Club hold their popular annual Table-Top Sale on Sunday, March 30.

Buy or sell anything — from fittings to fairleads; boots to books; clothing to compasses - sounding canes and splatchers.

If you have any bits of boating paraphernalia, then why not rent a table for just £5. Alternatively, if you’re looking for a bargain, then just turn up at the MLSC on Maldon Quay on March 30. You never know what goodies there will be.

Embark 10.00 hrs; disembark 16.00 hrs. 

 

To book a table ring 01621 891949. 

Free admission; refreshments available; bar open...

Mud Splatchers and Sounding Canes

The Essex Boat Jumble, held at Ardleigh Showground, Old Ipswich Rd took place last weekend. Everyone was worried about the weather, having had so much rain previously, and hoped it wouldn't be cancelled due to a washout. Hats off to the organisers of the event; Chaddock and Fox Promotions, it must be nightmare having to cancel something like this, being booked so far in advance, specially as they need so many staff for the event run smoothly.
 Creeky Dave took a stall and let me cadge floor space and table corner beside a few thumbed nautical tomes that were going for a song. What bargains you lovely people had.

My line of custom made sounding canes. Orders are now being taken

 I took along a few pieces of custom made East Coast kit - rare as hens teeth - that I let go at bargain basement prices too, to a few non-suspecting boaters. My line of splatchers were popular, and I received many jovial remarks about them.  A few folk even went as far as parting with their boaty cash to be adorned in a pair. It was smiles all round. The 'Creeksailor' sounding canes drew much interest as well with folk intrigued to learn I have a custom made version for each river on the East Coast. You can buy bean sticks anywhere but not like these. These are authentic custom made Creeksailor specials, and I can hand craft a stick or splatcher for any creek or river. Give it some stick...
This is the list of canes that were for sale on the day.
Blackwater Special, Mk I Crouch, Swale Stick 6', Orwell 8', Stour 6', Deben, Ore - Alde Mk IIs,
Mk II Rays'n, Neap-Tider 4' special, Thames Max 8', Roach 6', Colnesider's 6', Mk II Medway,
Walton Poker 6', Butley Wand 6', Spitway Jab, Low-Tide Frenzy.

Splatchers were used by winkle pickers. I always carry a pair on board

PS. I'm producing a new line of 'hand' splatchers, for when you fall flat on your face in mud while wearing splatchers!

Burning Desire

One way to end a day's sailing is to sit quietly at anchor. Here, in this image, we are just below Wallasea Jetty; swamped, and in our element - the low coast. It is time for reflecting on a passage accomplished - to watch as every drop of sun burns away the last of ones desire...
 A little further inland, one tack with a favourable wind, sea winds still echo along the grassy banks of the Crouch. They climb the great clumps of land that rise up, and are swept along its belts. If ever there was a "land of the giants" the hills there, and those that rise from every estuary up to Suffolk, would have been their stepping stones...

Marigold Public Sail Dates

For those that missed out last year, here's your chance to get out in the wonderful bawley, Marigold, in 2014. Engine-less to boot! For traditionalist it doesn't get much better than this. A sail down the Blackwater really can be a sail back in time aboard Thames bawley Marigold. Her type once shot their nets in the Thames Estuary from the little fishing port of Gravesend, and she comes from a stable whose linage goes back to the days of working sail, smoking chimneys, winkle shells and fishy nets of Maldon's waterfront. Do check out the links and see for yourself. TS

Marigold Charters  Public Sails 2014

Public sails are for those who wish to book individual places on-board Marigold rather than charter the boat. As with our charters, guests are invited to get involved with the sailing and handling of the boat as much or as little as they want. Whether helping us sail or just sitting back and watching the world go by. If conditions permit, you also have the opportunity to experience fishing under sail (not available on tide sails or race days).

SATURDAY 19th APRIL (13:00 to 17:00) Tide Sail from Maldon, Price £25.00 per person. Tea and coffee provided. Please bring your own lunch.

SUNDAY 8th JUNE (08:00 to 20:25) Day Sail from Maldon. Price £65.00 per person, including bacon roll for breakfast, a light lunch, afternoon cake and tea and coffee.

SATURDAY 5th JULY (TBA) Day Sail from Pin Mill, following the Pin Mill Barge Match. Price £70.00 per person, including bacon roll for breakfast, a light lunch, afternoon cake and tea and coffee. FULLY BOOKED.

WEDNESDAY 6th AUGUST (07:30 to 20:00) Day Sail from Maldon. Price £65.00 per person, including bacon roll for breakfast, a light lunch, afternoon cake and tea and coffee.

MONDAY 25th AUGUST (10:30 to 14:30) Tide Sail from Maldon. Price £25.00 per person. Tea and coffee provided. Please bring your own lunch.

SATURDAY 13th SEPTEMBER (TBA) Day Sail from Brightlingsea, participating in the Colne Match. Price £70.00 per person, including bacon roll for breakfast a light lunch, afternoon cake and tea and coffee.

SATURDAY 27th SEPTEMBER (12:15 to 16:00) Tide Sail from Maldon following the Maldon Town Regatta Parade of Sail. Price £28.50 per person. Tea and coffee provided. Please bring your own lunch.

Since ‘Marigold’ has no engine all finishing times are approximate. All times are in BST.

For more information visit our website www.marigoldcharters.co.uk or contact 07801364135 or email to info@marigoldcharters.co.uk

Marigold is also available to charter for groups of up to 6 guests for tide or day sails.
All trips are offered subject to the weather. Please refer to our terms and conditions.

Toolkiit

Perhaps the most versatile piece of kit carried on board Shoal Waters, and my punts and dinghies, is the the sounding cane.  It is positively the most used, and relied on tool, as well. Costs for this vital creek sailing aid do vary of course, depending on where you make your purchase. e.g. I ventured into an upmarket garden center and spied the 8' version, stacked upright beside the tomato plants, costing a balaclava clad £1.00 each; while just down the road, they cant give them away quick enough, at 50p each. The 6' version comes in bundles of 10 and can be bought at a very charitable 2 or 3 quid. This equates to 20p or 30p each. When you consider the amount of usage on board, how relied on this tool is; and how naked a skipper suddenly feels when his last one rolls off the coach roof during a hectic "lee ho," then prices like these, for "yachting" equipment, are almost unheard of in the modern world of boating. A boat that floats might do well to carry some stick...

Mind That Dinghy

Nothin stops me goin sailin!

This scene unfolded before me in the Greek Islands, last summer, when it raised an eyebrow or two. For the whole duration of my stay on Naxos I saw one dinghy, the one on the right, that graced the sunset for us every evening in a bay that spanned about ten miles wide. How I envied that person who sailed the magic hour in a backdrop of godly islands painted by a burning red sun which then sunk behind them every night. I went on to scour the surrounding villages in searing heat, I pretended to go snorkeling for sea shells when really I was miles along the bay coming up for air searching for the lone dinghy and its mooring. I was surprised to find it a few days into the search gracing the corner of a tranquil bay where it lay under shade of some trees on idyllic white sand. The skipper was nowhere to be seen. Lucky for them as I was going to collar them for a sail. I guessed they were locals as they knew the right time to appear, and disappear...
A couple of days later a bush fire raged up in the mountains. Sirens squealed as a squadron of three seaplanes circled our bay before swooping in, each one in turn scooping up tons of water and flying off again, up to the mountains where I could see it drop its cargo of sea on smoking, mountainous terrain.
Strangely, the only time I saw these two dinghies sailing together they happen to be sailing in the path of the emergency seaplanes.  You have to hand it to those pilots who worked tirelessly to dodge these two herberts, and until darkness in order to put out the raging bush fire. And those sailors? You got to hand it to them too as they ain't letting nothing get in the way of sailin!

The London Boat Show

The London Boat show may only be a short hop away but the pre-booking price for three adults in the same family came to £31.75 for an after 3pm entry. Add the £15.00 onsite parking fee and you start to wonder, was this a good idea after all... We arrived at the door at 18.00 for Thursday’s late night opening until 21.00. Three hours of bling would surely be more than enough to cope with.

The brief to my kids were; imagine you had won the Lottery. Now, keep your eye open for a family sized creek crawler with centerplate that we could spend 6 months on and could take the whole family anywhere in the World…

The hall seemed to be larger this year, but then this may have been an illusion. My son noticed straight away that last year’s car section was missing and headed blindfold for the biggest Sunseeker in the building. We had parted ways for a while, and that is fair enough, they know I go straight for the raggy bits that stick up between the gleem.

The sweeping sheer and on-the-floor draft of the Swallow Boat

I couldn’t help but notice a solitary Drascombe among the motor vessels that made up the majority of prominent boats in the hall. With its three tan sails raised it looked to be making a last stand against a tidal surge of Diesel.  I did find a couple of modern-day contenders for an ideal creek crawler in the form of the Swallow  Boats. GRP boats with classic looks but with modern composite spars and performance. The Crabbers were on show too with the ever popular 19ft Shrimper beside a very similar 19ft Adventurer. The Adventurer looked to be a Bermudan rig Shrimper but the bar was next to the stand and I got called away before I could take a closer look.

I heard the kids calling me over. They said they had found the ideal boat - two boats in fact. "Ok, I’m coming" I yelled and made my way over. My daughter then pointed to one yacht that sat four or five feet lower that every other yacht in the line along the back wall. “Look, under there, it has a lifting keel and draws less than 3ft. It’s 42ft long so we could easily sail the Atlantic. Just imagine Dad we could then head up New York Creek? It only costs around 300 grand.” "Oh that’s one of those lovely Southerly’s. Let’s have two of those then!" Phew, calm down dear I thought to myself, does New York even have a creek? This wasn’t a good idea coming here. Quick, let’s get back to the mud of Essex and our little bundle of joy. “Hold on Dad there’s one more” "Do we have to, this is getting tedious, I am simply not used to having so much room in a boat. I would trip over the volumes of airspace."

The voluminous Southerly. Worldwide family creek crawling

“No, you’ll like this one Dad. An Ovni 42. She’s made of aluminum and draws the same as the Southerly but her plate is like that on Shoal Waters and can be lifted easily by a series of ropes and pulleys. At 42ft she is the same length too so we’d all get in and be able to do the World series creek hop. And, price-wise they are similar to the Southerly but you can pick them up second hand at a bargain 90 grand.” "Blimey wed get one of those each then. The dog can have one too. Just think we could sail in convoy and do a raid on New York beach? Let’s have it then…" “Oh, this one's not for sale Dad”…

If I’m honest, for us that was this year’s boat show. A lot of dreaming!

Sailing Today

Readers may like to know that February's edition of Sailing Today features an East Coast creek-cruising article. It's a very nice spread, if I may say so, illustrated with some gloriously muddy photographs. The amount of mud alone on show is medicine enough to help the most ardent creek sliders through to spring.  Hard copies are available now at the usual outlets and a digital version of the magazine is also available from this link to the Sailing Today website. If you do get to take a look I hope you enjoy it.

Happy Crimbo

This salty treat is for every reader of the Creeksailor site.The six oysters with shallot vinegar and lemon slices are sitting on the table in Mehalah's in East Mersea. Be my guest and choose your own tipple to wash them down with... 
  I washed mine down with a bottle of Island Mud.. Thanks for all your emails and support over the last year, I hope I've been able to support you in return.
 Good sailing in the New Year. TS

Sailing with Gaff Cutter Rig

 Getting To Know your boat and how best she sails can take many hours, months or even years of trial and error. I was developing my sailing skills with gaff cutter rig during my time with Huffler but over the last three years with Shoal Waters my knowledge and experience of the rig have increased tenfold. This is due to the volume of quality time I’ve spent on the water actually sailing the boat. Before I go any further I should point out that in my understanding of the fore-and-aft sailing rig when the word jib is used on a sloop rig vessel it is done so incorrectly as if the sail is set from the forestay of the boat it is more accurately called the staysail or to be completely pedantic the forestaysail and this sail can also be refrered to as the foresail or headsail. You may understand it differently so at this point I shall put my crash helmet on and stand to be corrected! These minor matters only become more obvious when sailing with the cutter rig which has a bowsprit as the staysail is definitely not the jib and vice-verse. 
 Gaff Cutter Rig
  The origins of the cutter rig lie with the Dutch but the rig has been in use in England since the early 18th century when it was used by revenue men in the prevention of smuggling. The rig has a long association with working boats and became without doubt the most English of rigs as it was used by fishermen in smacks and bawleys and by ship pilots in pilot cutters and ultimately, as the new "gentlemans" leisure activity of yachting came about the rig would naturally go on to drive these boats to. The rig can generally be distinguished from a sloop by its extended bowsprit and the setting of an extra headsail called a jib.
 Nuances
  Of all the little nuances one comes across when sailing a new, to them, boat I was finding that sailing close-hauled under full sail the first sail to start luffing would be the staysail - never the jib or mainsail, always the staysail. I paced the decks in search of a reason.  I loosened sheets and tightened sheets. I checked the tension of the halyards as these can work loose, and, in the past if I had lowered the mast to shoot bridges I may not have tightened the halyard enough. I also found that sweating either of the headsail halyards too tight and the Wykham Martin furling gear becomes stiff and the sails will not furl completely. I spoke to other wooden boat owners who would agree there will always be an amount of flexing in the rigging of a wooden boat with wooden spars. And anyway, gaffers sail loose - we don’t sail to windward? In an ideal world this would be true perhaps but the reality for anyone who moves around from one river system to another on a regular basis covering a lot of miles as I do knows that to wait in port for ideal weather you could be waiting all year therefore its quite possible to find yourself in the middle of a channel such as the Wallet for instance with a belting headwind and when as much weatherly performance as your boat can achieve is more than helpful unless you don't mind turning back around. 
 Hoisting Sail 

 Setting Shoal Waters sails I start with the mainsail, then the jib, and finally set the staysail but I don’t think it really matters as long as you know when and at what position your sails are set correctly. As with any activity where skill is involved, one of the benefits of increased volume is a heightened sense of awareness; you loose that ring-rust and just know when things are not right, or as they should be.   

  Sailing 

Shoal Waters cutter rig in perfect "tune" drives us down the Wallet

 Off the wind Shoal Waters will happily sail under mainsail alone or with just both headsails. Sailing her with the mainsail only and when having to tack she may stall passing through as she is a heavy old bird therefore it’s ships practice to bear away first to give plenty of “way”. Off the wind she will keep up with any normal boat and to windward her pointing ability still amazes me when I  realize I'm keeping up with Bermudan rig vessels. Her maximum speed in ideal conditions is 4.5/5 knots but we rarely sail at this pace, more like 3 knots or less, and it is a Jubilee celebration when with a fair wind and tide she has shown some thigh doing 6.5 to 7 knots.
 The jib and staysail on Shoal Waters are very small but either sail set alone will slowly drive her if the wind is aft of the beam but together and with the mainsail and at all points of sail it is quite considerable the amount of sureness in the drive they give. The jib is also vital for creek sailing, canal or broads sailing where narrow, winding waterways demand decisive going about. I like the short aspect the gaff rig allows. This means a shorter, more manageable mast. The sail is forgiving in gusts and when one lowers the gaff, a hell of a lot of sail can come down quickly.
 She has an amount of weather helm that if left to her own devices she will round up into the wind nicely which is comforting to know for a single-handed sailor. Who knows how many sailors have disappeared through falling overboard while standing at the lee shroud using natures facilities and the boat has sailed blindly on regardless?Its an awful thought but a very real danger. Be careful out there.
 Taking on board new information and"The One Word Concept" 

 “I’ve eased as much as nine inches from a smacks jib sheet” These words were said to me while sat bows-in-mud chatting to a well-known East Coast sailmaker. They reverberated in my innards as I set Shoal Waters small blade-of-a-jib during one of our early cruises of 2012. Out of interest I’d asked the question what sail you would start with when setting a cutter rig. Just those few words in answer reinforced that maybe I did need to look more carefully at balance tuning the rig. I had already played around with the sheets of course but I did find I could ease the jib by as little as half an inch and the staysail would resist luffing just that bit more. I admit there is more to tuning my particular boat though as she has lanyards on the shrouds and if these loosen the mast rake changes so there has to be a constant, methodical checking of all these contact points throughout the cruising year. I could go on and describe sailing Shoal Waters off the leach as well which is something that I've had to do a couple of times but if I can forget about sailing the boat for a minute I'd like to focus on what intrigues me about this type of learning situation in the hope it may ring bells for others.
 What is this One Word Concept 
  Many years ago now, in another life it seems, I was an instructor of physical exercise. Anyone who has been an instructor will know that imparting your knowledge in a one to one situation or onto a class of students takes a variety of methods. This is because we all learn things in different ways. For instance some of us can read a book and memorize it word for word and then go away and implement it, while others will have to physically practice something to memorize it. If only I knew this as a kid….  "Whats all this cobble got to do with sailing"?  I hear you ask. Bare with me.. 

  During this time an instructor shows you hundreds, possibly thousands of techniques. They pass on their psychology, wisdom, and experience. Some of it you take in, some of it goes straight over your head and then suddenly the instructor drops one word, or it might be a sentence, that hits you like a bolt of lightning and everything falls into place. For the lucky few this word may happen on their first days training but this is rare as an understanding of the “whole” is needed to appreciate what is actually being passed on. Therefore, for the mere mortals among us, this learning process can go on for many years, in fact a lifetime if we continually place ourselves in a learning environment, as we take on new information and as our minds and bodies try to make sense of it. Fortunately we get good at spitting out what is of no use to us and retaining what is.  I try and apply this concept of the one word or sentence in every learning situation as I just love learning new things, and consciously search for it when reading or in conversations with anyone I class as knowledgeable in a particular subject. I did this with the above question to the sailmaker whose short sentence I’m going to leave you with, as, put simply, within it holds the key to enjoyable sailing with gaff cutter rig.

Good Sailing, TS

Hythe Quay Maldon

 Hythe Quay at Maldon as it looked last weekend after the initial movement

The Hythe yesterday (Sat) after the tidal surge

  Lets hope any more of the quay doesn't suffer the same fate and that something can be done about the Hythe sooner rather than later.
  At the moment the visitors pontoon is not affected and although a boat drawing as much as six feet or more could reach right up to Fullbridge, from my observations and without physically sounding the depth with my trusty cane, that same craft would not be able to visit here as a lot of silt has built near it  barring access to deeper draft vessels who otherwise might like to come alongside.

  PS: On a positive note if you get a chance do visit the Hythe as sailing barge Hydrogen is open as a cafe barge throughout the winter months.  Tea or coffee with home made cakes etc are now available onboard in this unique setting.
Good sailing, TS

Can You Adam n Eve It

Cockney sailor makes landfall...

After a bit of Hillman hunting we went down the rubba dub where we got a great jellied eel on a bit of Yul Brenna. The bloke that served us was a bit for n aft, but his bricks and mortar was a right Barney Marlin! He didnt say a Dickie Bird when he served up the Bill, a while later, and I thought he was playing a Diet Coke. Anyway, I had a quick butchers hook in me sky rocket and couldn’t Adam n Eve it, as I only ad a sky diver. "Your avin a giraffe" he cried. "Sorry me old mate but I was Hank Marvin,"I replied. With that he stared bang into me mince pies and said "I’ll take that smile off your boat race." This geezers lost is loaf of bread I thought and replied "you got some north and south" and began waving me chalk farms. Guess what? He was up on his plates of meat and scotch egged it… "On the ouse," he cried! I couldn’t Adam and Eve it...

Sailing The 8' Y Emma

Get Afloat

  Prices have fallen in the second hand yacht market with many boats for sale stuck-fast to hards or sitting around in boatyards therefore buyers are in as good a position as it is likely to get to reel in a bargain. If you are moving up in size then more boat for less cash is a realistic expectation to as owners are shedding pounds in order to dump the ongoing financial liability of storage costs. It is worth considering just what the ongoing running costs will be before you make that purchase and though it may shatter the dream a little to do this, in the long run you know its for the best. If you are looking at a 22 - 27 long or fin keeler perhaps that is chocked up in a yard the rental costs of yard space may set you back £100.00 plus per month and a lift in will set you back at least another bulls-eye at £50 but probably more. The costs all add up so that the 22 feet Hurley long keel going for under 2 grand may end up costing double that by the time you get her in the water. If the type of boat you fancy sits on a trailer then you can be self reliant to a large degree and after making the purchase can sit her on the drive or in a friends garden where the running costs fall to a stress free zero.
The mooring costs of both these types of vessel, the long keeler and the the small trailer sailor do no have be high either and to give an example Maldon council moorings are surprisingly reasonable at just over a hundred quid. Here are the current charges from the council website. The figures on the right are VAT.

Mooring Registration Fee	£104.17	£20.83
Annual Charges
Up to 7.99 Metres	£91.67	£18.33
8.00 to 9.99 Metres	£154.17	£30.83
10.00 to 14.99 Metres	£208.33	£41.67
15.00 Metres and above	£275.00	£55.00

Now, obviously other councils prices will vary and you will have to supply your own tackle, and you have then got to be able to get to the mooring, but the point I'm making is for the average Joe who would never think twice about owning a boat fearing the high costs of owning and keeping a sailing cruiser, when in fact access to cruiser sailing can be done on the most meager budgets.  In my view at these prices the value of fun and quality of life returned per pound spent is simply immeasurable, and in this light I would go even further and say a boat mooring fee is going to be the best money investment in your own sanity you will ever make...
  I've had a quick look through the listings on Ebay and there is a plethorugh of small boats at bargain prices. If you are looking for a small cruiser then now is as good as any to make that purchase.
Here are a few available right now. Express Pirate  Corribee  Halcyon 27  Vivacity 20

Bob Roberts and Dick Durham SB Cambria

A must see video for all barge fans and those with a genuine interest in the East Coast.
A wonderful insight into the barging life under sail.