Go Gaff postcard of Shoal Waters set in her home waters; England's East Coast. This one is to every reader of this site and is titled 'Stumble'. Enjoy your sailing, Tony
Tuesday, 26 August 2014
Sunday, 24 August 2014
Dreamy Sail-Art
Couple of colourful and dreamy pics from today's cruise. I think these were RS's sailing downriver, off of Stone SC.
Sunday, 17 August 2014
To Wade or not to Wade
Part Of The ‘Creeksailor’s essentials toolkit’ for Thames
Estuary creek-crawling are a pair of sea-boots.
Creek-sailing sea-boots come in all shapes and sizes and, on the whole,
keep us dry or mud free when having to traverse a patch of mud, shingle or
marsh to get to or from the boat while cruising. This is something quite
different from a pair of yachting or dinghy boots that are designed to keep
feet dry and at the same time give good grip while on a boat.
Cruising
My own cruising footwear has gone through an evolutionary
phase through trial, error and necessity. The results may be a refreshing surprise
to those who are caught up in the midst of an age of technical garb being
produced for sailors who can meet the requirements on the mortgage forms to pay
for it. In light of all the money we could be spending on cruising wear perhaps
we should be thankful that during the warmer summer months we can get away without
using any footwear at all, choosing instead to go wading through a patch of mud
bare-legged, in the knowledge everything wet dries off in no time - I don’t
choose to do this bare footed just in case I cut myself on a buried shell, or
who knows what else, but in colder climates it’s important to try and stay dry
if at all possible. Anyone who’s been drenched and away from a dry change of
clothes will know how much water increases the chill factor - single-handed and
alone morale could soon follow; therefore it makes sense for the cruising man
or woman to operate with this in mind.
What Type of Boot
The type of boots used for general dinghy sailing, and those
which I have tried in the past, have a fine plimsoll-type rubber sole and can make
do. But I found these were not quite up to the job of shoal cruising where more
durable footwear, one that has to withstand the suction and sink of East Coast
ooze, is called for. The dinghy boots I had worn were certainly light enough
and, with go fast stripes or a yellow flash, looked the part while hanging
around the tender boat rack down at the yacht club, but were definitely not
long enough to stay dry in. They had a worthy rubber sole, moulded with good
grip, but picked up pieces of grit from every step taken on mud or a beach which
then ended up being trodden all over the boat, and that is after rinsing off
any mud. Not something you want to encourage on GRP or finished paintwork
surfaces.
Basic Wellies
For creek cruising, the knee length of the boot is all important too as this is what determines the depth you can comfortably wade about in without getting a boot full of water. Technical garb, and thus unloading heavy amounts of cash, is unnecessary for the creek cruiser. For he or she, the basic rubber wellington, much loved and used by farmers throughout Britain, serve well for most situations the active small boat skipper will come across including any canal work you are likely to undertake in the boat. In use they are light enough, flexible and easy to stow away, and in my own case, the rubber soles work well on Shoal Waters teak cockpit floor-boards and her painted decks which has the ‘all important’ added sand for grip. They are cheap to buy and are universally available in green or black colours. I’ve found it is worth spending a little more cash, still relatively cheap for a quality brand like Argyle, the cheaper brand made for farmers by the ‘Hunter’ brand of wellies, where the rubber is purer and thus suppler and lasts longer than the substitute mix used to produce inferior, harder and more plastic-type wellies that seem to be more susceptible to the combined damaging effects of sea water and UVB given off by sunlight. I’ve had a couple of pairs of these plastic-type boots that developed cracks and split during the first seasons use. For very infrequent use anything will make do, of course, and theoretically a cheap pair could last a number of years but I’ve found the knee length Argyls, also known traditionally as Bullseye Hood at £30.00-ish when last purchased, are a decent bit of kit that, subject to the heavy abuse of the marine environment i.e. salt water, mud, UV rays, scuffs, scrapes, bending, folding and other general heavy wear associated with climbing over splintered shipwrecks; have at least two or three years of life in them.
For creek cruising, the knee length of the boot is all important too as this is what determines the depth you can comfortably wade about in without getting a boot full of water. Technical garb, and thus unloading heavy amounts of cash, is unnecessary for the creek cruiser. For he or she, the basic rubber wellington, much loved and used by farmers throughout Britain, serve well for most situations the active small boat skipper will come across including any canal work you are likely to undertake in the boat. In use they are light enough, flexible and easy to stow away, and in my own case, the rubber soles work well on Shoal Waters teak cockpit floor-boards and her painted decks which has the ‘all important’ added sand for grip. They are cheap to buy and are universally available in green or black colours. I’ve found it is worth spending a little more cash, still relatively cheap for a quality brand like Argyle, the cheaper brand made for farmers by the ‘Hunter’ brand of wellies, where the rubber is purer and thus suppler and lasts longer than the substitute mix used to produce inferior, harder and more plastic-type wellies that seem to be more susceptible to the combined damaging effects of sea water and UVB given off by sunlight. I’ve had a couple of pairs of these plastic-type boots that developed cracks and split during the first seasons use. For very infrequent use anything will make do, of course, and theoretically a cheap pair could last a number of years but I’ve found the knee length Argyls, also known traditionally as Bullseye Hood at £30.00-ish when last purchased, are a decent bit of kit that, subject to the heavy abuse of the marine environment i.e. salt water, mud, UV rays, scuffs, scrapes, bending, folding and other general heavy wear associated with climbing over splintered shipwrecks; have at least two or three years of life in them.
Thigh Waders
The old chestnut of outdoor footwear, and ‘fisherman’s
favourite’, is also one of mine. For the owner of a boat on a mud-mooring who
uses knee-high wellies to walk out to the boat; donning a pair of these guarantee
half hour extra sailing and you could still be able to walk ashore dry! Other
pluses of wearing waders are there’s more scope to move around while
longshoring with boat ‘in tow’ without getting a wellie-full of green. They are
great for dinghy work or punting, and when in the cruiser you can dry out
further from the marsh or beach and get ashore sooner if you would like to. Perhaps,
tender dinghies may well become redundant when using a pair of waders. The down
side of waders, I feel, is at approximately £50.00 a time for a cheaper brand they
might only last a season without having to patch them up for if not stored
properly, and to get the most life out of them, they must be stored without
creasing. I can do this at home where there is room in the garage to hang them
upside down, but in a tiny boat with minimal space one has to compromise and
therefore folding is unavoidable. I have a pair of thigh waders in their third
year of commission that have more holes in them than a Tetley teabag. The other
negative of waders is if you do take a wellie-full it will be a ‘big-un’ likely
to hamper movement, and if you would have to resort to any swimming i.e. if you
happen to slip over – good luck!
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Thigh wading through creek gore |
Chest Waders
Now, I don’t see many boaters, and especially yachtsmen, using these to go cruising in on the East Coast. But it is, perhaps, a different story down south in places like Christchurch Harbour, where I’ve holidayed on numerous occasions. It’s a shallow estuary with a mixture of mud, sand and shingle beach areas, not unlike those we encounter in many creeks and inlets here in the Thames Estuary. The tide there has a double stand and therefore the shoal draft ribs, a popular choice of boat there, can float in a few feet for hours. During my stay I had watched these boats come and go on many occasions and noticed most of the skippers using chest waders to plough a way ashore after dropping anchor and thought that in many instances I end up in the same scenario and could see the application for East Coast creek sailing. But it took a while, years in fact, for me to act on because I thought they were too bulky and would take too much time putting on, therefore I had resisted investing in a pair. Until that is a pair of were gifted to me by my pal Brian who has been using them to launch his boat for a number of years. The reason being I help launch and recover his boat each season and no matter what footwear I donned always ended up wet up to my waist. I don’t mind this at all though as no matter how hard we may try to avoid it, getting wet now and again that is, it’s all part of boating I reasoned. But feeling sorry for me he was adamant a pair of these would look after me better next time.
Now, I don’t see many boaters, and especially yachtsmen, using these to go cruising in on the East Coast. But it is, perhaps, a different story down south in places like Christchurch Harbour, where I’ve holidayed on numerous occasions. It’s a shallow estuary with a mixture of mud, sand and shingle beach areas, not unlike those we encounter in many creeks and inlets here in the Thames Estuary. The tide there has a double stand and therefore the shoal draft ribs, a popular choice of boat there, can float in a few feet for hours. During my stay I had watched these boats come and go on many occasions and noticed most of the skippers using chest waders to plough a way ashore after dropping anchor and thought that in many instances I end up in the same scenario and could see the application for East Coast creek sailing. But it took a while, years in fact, for me to act on because I thought they were too bulky and would take too much time putting on, therefore I had resisted investing in a pair. Until that is a pair of were gifted to me by my pal Brian who has been using them to launch his boat for a number of years. The reason being I help launch and recover his boat each season and no matter what footwear I donned always ended up wet up to my waist. I don’t mind this at all though as no matter how hard we may try to avoid it, getting wet now and again that is, it’s all part of boating I reasoned. But feeling sorry for me he was adamant a pair of these would look after me better next time.
I kept them in the garage, only airing them for punting
expeditions during the winter season but never used them for boarding my
cruiser Shoal Waters. Besides, my favored green waders were still holding up
with the Sikaflex repairs and cycle inner-tube puncture patches I had made fast
on the leaking splits that had emerged from folding them away. And I prefer
waders as they are just as easy as knee high wellies to put on and you can fold
them down to free up the knee and walk freely. For the punt cruising I was doing I found
the chest waders were an ideal alternative for the job. The boots fit well and
give excellent grip and the neoprene is not only waterproof but warm, soft and
flexible as a piece of clothing so if you lay in the punt and any water gets in
it’s not a problem. I’ve been using them for getting out to Shoal Waters more this year than last and have found they give another level of flexibility with regards to the
tidal access than I had experienced with the thigh waders. They roll up to a far
more compact size than perhaps you would imagine and are therefore as easy to
be stored out the way as are a pair of waders or knee high wellies. They have proved themselves in use as the
wait is around 2.5 hours from high water until you can safely walk ashore but I
came home one night from a cruise and the wind dropped off but I still managed
to crawl over the ebb to reach my mooring buoy an hour after high water. Half
hour later, and in darkness, I waded through four and half feet of water to shore,
bone dry. They fold up easily and are very light and to date, late in their
second seasons use, have not suffered the cracking associated with normal
wellies.
There are many benefits with using a pair of chest waders and
perhaps the worst possible scenario of any negatives would be to go under and
ship a chest full of water...
At £40 – £70 chest waders are great for boat launching and generally any boat handling where one has to ‘step in’.
At £40 – £70 chest waders are great for boat launching and generally any boat handling where one has to ‘step in’.
Comfort
The comfort fitting of footwear is a personal matter but I
prefer a size bigger. In wellies it means one boot can be left behind in a
suction of mud if you are not careful when traversing the deeper goo. But this
is far outweighed by the plus point; they are easy to remove when you reach the
boat. I simply slide in and out of mine and leave them standing upright in their own mudprint.
To wade or not to wade? Whatever your preference may be, take
extreme care when out on the water, always respect the muds and father
Neptune’s tides and remember to wear a suitable buoyancy aid or life-jacket in deep water.
Good wading, and sailing, Tony Smith
Sunday, 10 August 2014
Radio Caroline in the River Blackwater, Essex
MV Ross Revenge, the home of Radio Caroline is back in the River Blackwater. She had been in Tilbury for the last 9 years undergoing various restoration works and left on the 31st July and having just arrived since her last time in the river, back in 1994. I took this, one of a series of photos, on Monday 4th August while heading out of the river. She is anchored mid-river opposite St Lawrence Creek, just up from Bradwell.
For the time being there is talk of her broadcasting on a temporary license and making the Blackwater her new home for the foreseeable future.
The Viking Saga, who once ran trips out to the Essex coast to the offshore floating radio station, will be running trips down from Maldon for those wishing to get a glimpse of her, and public tours of the ship may be available in the coming months as well. For lots more info click through to the following links; http://www.radiocaroline.co.uk/#home. http://www.rossrevenge.co.uk/
For the time being there is talk of her broadcasting on a temporary license and making the Blackwater her new home for the foreseeable future.
The Viking Saga, who once ran trips out to the Essex coast to the offshore floating radio station, will be running trips down from Maldon for those wishing to get a glimpse of her, and public tours of the ship may be available in the coming months as well. For lots more info click through to the following links; http://www.radiocaroline.co.uk/#home. http://www.rossrevenge.co.uk/
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Shoal Waters sailing close by a welcome addition to the the River Blackwater, Radio Caroline |
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