North Kent

[BobT]

I have recently moved to just outside Whitstable in Kent. Are there any other Swallows down this way?

[martin scott]

Hi Bob,
I'm over on the other side of the Thames at Leigh-on-Sea but have made quite a few trips this year with my BRe (Blue Moon) into the Swale - Harty Ferry, Faversham and Queenborough - as well as the Medway. Last cruise of the year, weather permitting, will be the weekend after next up the Medway to Medway Yacht Club. Be pleased to meet up if you fancy a sail in the Medway. As for other Swallows in this area, the only one I'm aware of is a BR20 at Leigh Marina but I don't know who the owner is.
Martin

[SteveWD]

I used to be a member at MYC.
There are good launching and retrieval ramps with winches at MYC, if you ask them nicely.
Steve

[BobT]

Martin, Steve,

Many thanks for the info will certainly investigate MYC.  I am currently launching from Herne Bay which is a very good ramp (3hrs either side of high tide) and parking. In season I suspect will be very busy £11 for launching and parking with trailer all day seems good though limited facilities.  Also have had a look at Harty Ferry slip which is down a narrow road with limited parking at the end but puts you straight into the Swale which is a bit more interesting than Herne Bay.
Martin apologies I missed your sail but other priorities! Will send you PM as would be great to pick your brains on sailing in the area.
Steve do I take it you have moved away?
Regards,
Bob

[SteveWD]

Martin, Steve,
...Steve do I take it you have moved away?
Regards,
Bob

Yes. We're now members of Parkstone YC and Christchurch SC and sail BC26-006 Samba.

[Graham W]

I’m moving to North Kent next month.  So, no more glorious scenery and flukey winds on Lake Bala but new challenges of wind, tide and mud on the Swale and elsewhere.  I’m looking forward to it but will miss my Bala sailing companions.  Hopefully we’ll be able to get together for a regatta down there once I’ve scoped out slipways and got my bearings.

[BobT]

Hi Graham, look forward to catching up with you. Drop us a line when you get settled. There is another Br20 locally, and just upgraded from a Drascombe  !
Cheers Bob

[Graham W]

After loads of research and not a little procrastination, I’ve finally applied to join the Medway Yacht Club.  'Must have' criteria were a decent slipway, copious parking and as much tidal access as possible.  The only other place that came near was Herne Bay, which I think is where Bob and Kim (BRe ‘Escape’) sail from.  Nearer bases either had fairly poor slipways or poor tidal access (or both), so it was eventually quite an easy decision. 

MYC has excellent facilities (including a big pontoon sticking out into the river) and is good value for a trailer sailer like me.  I’m looking forward to exploring the nearby creeks, salt marshes and swatchways and also going upriver into the Kent countryside.

Maybe a location for a strictly unorganised meet in the future?  It’s not far off the SE part of the M25.

[Julian Merson]

A few years back, I led a fleet of Drascombes on a cruise from Harwich down to the Swale/Medway area, then back up the coast, through Havengore Bridge.  There's some fascinating sailing down that way, made even more interesting by some Dutch companion skippers who were full of the history of the Dutch raid on the Medway in the seventeenth century!  Apparently, this little piece of history is well-covered in the Dutch school curriculum, though seems to have been forgotten over here...!
I wrote about the trip on my old blog.  http://daisyii.blogspot.com/2015/08/ecc-part-ii-swale-and-river-medway.html
Definitely eyeing up a return in the new boat.

[Graham W]

I worked with some Dutchmen, who also kept reminding me that Medway was one of the worst ever British naval defeats.  I was told that ever after the Dutch admiral sailed with a broom at the masthead, to remind everyone of how he had swept the British from the sea.  My colleagues may not have been paying attention at school, as apparently having a broom at the masthead was a sign that the ship was for sale.

[martin scott]

Seem to recall that the Dutch raid on Chatham in 1667 was celebrated at Chatham 3 years ago. Too many visitors from Holland for me to get a berth in the marina. And lots of of stuff about about it in the Historic Dockyard. May have been a defeat then but good business now. Well worth visiting.

[Sea Simon]

I worked with some Dutchmen, who also kept reminding me that Medway was one of the worst ever British naval defeats.

    Caution;  Humour?

I too worked with many Dutchmen over the years, and in one job had reason to visit Den Helder Naval Base, to be told it "was one of the largest naval bases in Europe, with a long, proud tradition"

On return to UK, I was discussing my visit with my then-boss (A retired senior RN Officer) who pointed out, words to the effect....

"At the start of WW2 the Dutch had five cruisers, eight destroyers, 24 submarines, and smaller vessels, along with 50 obsolete aircraft.

During the Second World War, the Dutch Navy was based in Allied countries after the Netherlands was conquered by Nazi Germany in a matter of days: the Dutch Navy was permitted to move its headquarters to London, England..."

(credit to Wikipedia, for the quote - I couldn't recall such detail)

Looks like it all turned out OK for the UK, and for the RN in the end?
 

no offence etc....

[Michael Rogers]

Re 1667 and all that, the Rijksmuseum in Amsterdam (reopened after a total rebuild) contains the 'transom' (one of those 16th century three decker jobs covered in guilded curlicews and coats of arms) of HMS Royal Charles which the Dutch captured and took back to Holland. Because of her draught and the shallow water Dutch ports, they had to dry dock her, and she was a popular tourist attraction until she was eventually sold and broken up. The transom was preserved, has been restored, and looks very fine even in a museum setting.

In fairness, there is no element of gloat about its display in the Rijksmuseum. I couldn't find it initially, and had to ask an attendant where it was.

Michael R

[Graham W]

One of the reasons why the British flagship was captured was that she was lying upriver of a defensive chain across the Medway at Gillingham.  Being a chain, it sagged in the middle and the Dutch simply sailed over the top of it.  I was told this several times as well.