Who’s for tea was the first call made by the skipper as we
passed the tip of Maldon Promenade on our way down river from Hythe Quay in a
tender dinghy and pulled alongside the clinker built Gravesend bawley Marigold?
“Oh yes” was the joint reply as warps
passed over her bulwark and one by one we climbed aboard. A teeth grating
northerly had arrived just as we did which had us all reaching for our top
layers of clothing. I had come to join Kevin Finch, owner of Marigold, and a
few other lads who together we would make a motley crew of seafarers out for a
brisk winter sail - Roger - the only man I know who began his life on a Thames
barge as cook, became mate and then skipper on the same vessel. Then there is Ben, usually at sea nine months
of the year as part of a crew of seven sailing a square rigger, and last but
not least Andy; project manager on major tall ship rebuilds and other nautical concerns.
The real treat for all of us was the lady herself, Marigold. She is a wooden boat
of exceptional build quality; in fact her shapely timbers and fastenings ooze
with a heritage that is from Cooks yard in Maldon where she was built in 1978.
The yard has a long history in building and maintaining barges and working boats
and built Marigold replicating the lines of her sister ship Lilian, built in 1869,
and like her is clinker built with an overall length of 30 feet, plus 14 foot
of protruding bowsprit and a beam of 11 feet, her draft digs in at four feet
six inches. She has a cutter rig and
like the Lilian she is engineless. In Lilian’s time there would have been a
small fleet of her type of bawley based at an area called Bawley Bay which is
in Gravesend Kent, on the banks of the lower reaches of the River Thames.
Bawley Bay and Anchor Cove with the old Mission building |
They were mainly shrimpers
so would have been built with wet wells to keep the shrimps fresh but later
adopted copper boilers in the main hold to cook the catch as soon as they were hauled
up and sorted from the nets. Kevin has been a skipper and mate on Thames
spritsail barges so when he became owner of her three years ago he found both
sailing and handling a pleasure as in essence her bawley rig is very similar to
that of the barges rig. She even has a forehorse for the staysail and her
mainsail can be fully brailed. Marigold had been kept at Brightlingsea by her
previous owner for many years so having her back in Maldon where she was built
and where Kevin is based is a fitting home coming for such a fine ship.
Bawley Marigold - ultimate evolution of the ancient Peterboat |
SAILING
The Met Office
weather forecast had given the promise of a force six so one reef was put in
while we waited for her to float. The time was two hours before high water and
her aft section of keel was still held firm in the Maldon brown stuff, but
Kevin gave the nod to the foredeck crew and immediately her three strand ropes
were gripped and pulled on sending her lengthy wooden gaff and six mast hoops aloft before
her main canvas was brailed and left “ready”. Next up was the staysail. This was already
hanked-on therefore just needed the head block attached by its hook and then hoisted
up but ‘backed to port’. The traveller was sent out along the bowsprit and the
jib halyard pulled taught and Just as they are on a barge most lines on
Marigold are cleated but not hitched so they are ready to free off at a moments
notice. All was ready but a shift in
wind left us in stays for a few tantalising minutes but it came back even stronger.
We were now ready to get away, the nod was given and mainsail let out, the jib
sheeted and all three sails filled in unison. The call was made to let go her
mooring and we all looked and waited in anticipation for the moment she would
shift… What happened next is a situation most East Coast mud berth holders
would be familiar with when aiming to get away early - she still clung dearly
to the mud! Kevin asked everyone to move
forward and then suddenly she responded and we began to shift, driving quietly
forward in a glorious display of curved brown canvas that had her gunnel reaching
water level until checked by her ballast bringing her on an even keel again.
What followed was some thrilling winter sailing on the upper Blackwater, with
plenty of time for everyone to either control the sheets or take a turn on the
helm.
The bawleys boomless main is crew friendly |
Plenty of three strand to play with, and the forhorse |
Settling on the new tack. Note the deadeyes and handspike windlasss |
We had come along
for a sail today but Kevin carries a full array of oyster dredges and trawling
nets just as these vessels would have done in the golden age of 19th century
working sail. Marigold will be available for charter in 2013, for a whole day
or for a few hours taster on the top of the tide, to individuals or groups of
up to six and is a great opportunity for anyone who has always wanted to
experience the thrill of a magnificent traditional East Coast working boat, be
it a pure sailing adventure or practising those age old fishing methods, he or
she will not be disappointed.
Tony Smith
More information or enquiries about booking can be found at www.marigoldcharters.co.uk
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