Chapter 19 The Old Gaffers 25th Anniversary Rally

As soon as the evening flood tide reached her on Friday the 22nd of July, Shoal Waters moved from her drying mooring to the club jetty at the Blackwater S.C. to be loaded for three O.G.A. events, the East Coast Race, the Twentyfifth Anniversary Rally at Ramsgate and the Swale Smack and Barge Match. Joy and I are more rally than racing oriented and after enjoying the build up and start of the East Coast Old Gaffers race off Steeple Stone, dropped out off Sales Point rather than face the lively beat from the Knoll to the North Buxey, and rejoined the fleet for the trip back up river. Events had been planned so that most of the hundred craft taking part would have an easy leap to Ramsgate for the Anniversary rally the following weekend. Boats from the south coast would join them there and a hundred and twentyfive craft were entered.

Sadly Sundays` forecast was S.W. 6-8, no weather for the trip across to Ramsgate but the sun shone so we sailed down river to round Sales Point and dry on the mud off the old Chapel built by St Cedd in the seventh century. During the day I put on my waterboots and walked to the little creek that leads up to Walter Linnet’s old bungalow from where at least three generations earned a living fishing and wild fowling in this lonely area, to choose a smooth spot to dry out for the night. The bottom of the creek was flat mud, soft enough to cradle the hull as she dried, but firm enough to walk on, so we moved in on the night tide finding about two to three feet of water. It was neaps and as snug a hurricane hole as one could wish for in all but a gale from due east. The only snag was that it was a long walk into Bradwell village for milk etc. Monday passed pleasantly with walks among the sea lavender and a driftwood fire on the saltings.

Next day the wind was still from the S –SW but a little easier and we moved out as soon as she floated at 0800 hrs steering S by E until the Ray Yellow buoy came abeam at 0945 hrs. This was the moment of decision; either to go into the Crouch and safety or make a bold tip across the estuary? I liked the look of things and decided to go for Ramsgate. Ideally I would have liked to continue on starboard tack straight across Foulness Sands and keep on until I neared the Kent coast but the regular thump of gunfire ruled that out. Nevertheless, I just couldn’t bring myself to run northeast all the way to the Whitaker Beacon with every yard sailed meaning a yard to beat S.W. over the ebb in the Swin. In a spirit of fairplay between myself and the M.o D, I cut across the sand from the Ridge to the N.E. Maplin buoy. Once out of the firing area we went back on the wind as there would be water enough over the West Barrow Sand well to windward of the Barrow Swatch and were almost over the sand by the time that the M.oD. hovercraft caught up with us at 1120 hrs demanding our name and address. Rather than spell it out against the roar of the engine we handed him one of our lecture leaflets but have not, to date, had a request to give them a talk!

  After a lighter spell, which gave us a chance to brew up, the wind hardened so that I had to take down a reef. I hoped to weather Margate Sands and take the attractively named `Overland Route` in the lee of the Kentish shore but with the ebb tide and the rising seas I was lucky to weather the Shingles Patch and realised that I would have to go outside, so I eased the sheets a little to leave the Tongue Sand to starboard at 1455 hrs. Margate Sand gleamed in the brilliant sunshine as I hove to for another brew up before sounding my way round the eastern edge as close as possible to get the benefit of the smooth water in order to pull down the second reef at 1600 hrs. Out to seaward I could see a large smack, probably Sunbeam, a recent restoration, who looked to be having a rough time. Once we were clear of the sand, conditions can only be described as worrying but fifty minutes later the Longnose Buoy was astern and at 1710 hrs we anchored in the lee of the white cliffs as close as possible to the gleaming wet sand in Kingsbury Bay, comforted from most of the swell by the rocky promontories on either hand. A small coaster was already there and later a sailing barge joined us. This was comfortable for a short stay but no place to spend the night. Fortunately the wind seemed to be easing and veering. After a cup of tea and a meal we got under way again at 1900hrs with the last of the southbound tide for an idyllic moonlight beat across Pegwell Bay to a sheltered berth for the night in the River Stour at 2200 hrs.

Next morning we took the flood tide into the lovely old Cinque Port of Sandwich, and after a hurried shopping expedition, lowered down to pass under the old toll bridge (it can be opened by hand but causes traffic chaos) to reach Plucks Gutter ten miles along the `Saxon Way`, a national walk, for an afternoon nap. That evening we dropped back with the ebb to moor alongside a field of new mown hay for the night as the sun went down. Thursdays` morning ebb took us swiftly down past the old Roman castle at Richborough to Sandwich where we spent a pleasant day as the wind screamed overhead from the S.W. Under a cloudless sky we left with the ebb at 0200 hrs on Friday to travel the three tortuous miles to the sea while the moon danced around us from port to starboard and from ahead to astern, to anchor at Ebbsfleet for the rest of the night. At 0900 hrs we left for Ramsgate and the rally, entering the harbour at 1000 hrs to tie up alongside two boats just in from Brighton, and wait for the gates into the inner harbour to open shortly before high water.

The rally was fine thanks to the hospitality of the Royal Temple Y.C. but the weather deteriorated even more towards the weekend. The yachting press (including some from the continent) were there in force to cover the big race which was laid on for Saturday afternoon and it would have been a great spectacle had all one hundred and twentyfive craft arrived, but in fact only twentyfive of us had the mettle to get there. The view from the harbour wall convinced me that that we should stay where we were, but in the end we agreed to take part to make up the numbers. Once we got our sailing instructions I checked the tides and was horrified to discover that we were to run north to the Broadstairs Knoll Buoy, then beat south to Deal Pier and that the spring tide set north at three knots just after the starting gun. I pointed this out to other skippers but could only find one who showed the least concern. Together we got the course changed to cut out the northern leg and start to windward for a beat direct to Deal Pier. The best way of describing the conditions on the water can be summed up by the fact that the harbour masters` launch with all the press on board, lost its` rudder and had to be rescued. There was no well timed rush for the line (due east from the north breakwater) as the gun went. Craft just bobbed about all over the place as they struggled to survive. By beating right in, dangerously close to the new breakwater, we managed to get over the line and back into the harbour within an hour but most of the smaller boats, including the organisers`, were swept north and took three to four hours to get back to the starting line. Two larger boats got round the course and another got well south before giving up. At the prize giving in the clubhouse that evening there were just enough pots and prizes for one each!

Happy as we were in Ramsgate (there were no mooring charges for entrants), we seized the first chance to get round into the Swale and left as soon as the gate opened on Sunday at midday. The wind was S.W. and we hoped to be able to point due west along the Kent coast as it is impossible to work a fair tide on this route from Ramsgate Inner harbour for to do so we would have to leave about two hours after the flood started which is impossible for craft locked into the inner harbour. The single gate to the inner harbour only opens when the tide outside draws level with the water inside, normally about an hour before high water. We had a pleasant sail as far as the twin towers at Recluvers (Two thousand years ago we could have got there via Richborough and Plucks Gutter in the days when the Isle of Thanet was indeed an island), but then the wind veered a little and died so that we had to kedge until the evening flood took us into the Swale and Harty ferry at 2350 hrs.

Monday came in hot and we explored Conyer Creek at on the midday high water and then took the ebb as far as Emley Island where we anchored for an afternoon nap and to work the Elmley Island trick. When the ebb set in westward we sailed under the busy Kingsferry Bridge for a snug berth in our favourite Stansgate Creek. On Tuesday we shopped at Queenborough and sailed through Chatham to Aylesford. This voyage up the Medway valley with its` steep, wooded chalk hills on either hand, makes an interesting change for sailors used to the wide open skies of the outer estuary. Another attraction of this trip is that it is dominated by three bridges. The massive road and rail bridge at Rochester is guarded by the historic castle and just high enough for Shoal Waters to pass under except at the very top of the tide. No such problem at the next massive M2 motorway bridge with at least fifty feet of clearance. The lovely old single lane, packhorse bridge at Aylesford reminds us of a more leisurely past with its` five stone arches. In passing we took the opportunity to look into what remains of Whitehall Creek. Once a graveyard for old minesweepers and other derelicts, it is being gradually filled in from the south as modern buildings spread out over the low lying peninsular. Joy broke a tooth and had to go home to her dentist. In passing back through the Swale I was lucky enough to find the Kingsferry Bridge open for a coaster and got another colour slide to my collection of the area. After picking Joy up at Faversham I dropped back to Harty Ferry to photograph the assembled feet at sunset.

The Swale Smack and Barge Match is unique hereabouts in that one race includes barges, smacks and gaff rigged and other traditional yachts. The usual course is out to the Girdler Beacon, south to the remains of Herne Bay pier and back to Harty Ferry. It is always sailed as near as possible to neaps with a low water around midday so that the late afternoon flood helps them all back home whatever the weather. The East Swale is a perfect area for such a match and it is a real festival of sail. The event is perfected by the get together in the evening in the old boat building and repair shed at the Hollow shore. Sunday came in with light airs from the northeast and we sailed in company with Sea Pig who is a little bigger than us but was towing a dinghy. At first in smooth water she got ahead of us but as the wind rose to a working breeze and small waves built up, we overtook her easily, a clear illustration of the drag of a dinghy on a small boat, particularly when it pipes up. Neither of us were anywhere near the Whittaker Beacon by low water. Sea Pig beat on over the flood for a long haul to Brightlingsea, but we worked in over Foulness Sands, anchoring for ten or twenty minutes each time we ran out of water until able to sail into the deep water of the outer River Crouch for a run to Rochford for the night and home to Maldon on the morrow.