ON BOARD SAILING BARGE PUDGE,
20 - 22 JULY 2001
OUT AND BACK FROM MALDON 
This was my annual charter of the Thames
Barge Sailing Club's Pudge (built in 1922) for a weekend trip out of
Maldon, on the River Blackwater in Essex. (see the
Club's web site for
more information about Pudge and the club). As in previous years, I'd recruited
my charter party from IWA South London Branch and the various waterways fora on
the internet. I'd switched the time of year from September to July in the hope
of (a) better weather and (b) more participants, both of which had come about.
We were to have a charter party of eleven, to which would be added three crew
provided by the TBSC.
Click on a picture to see
an enlarged version with a fuller caption.
SB Pudge
Photo © Mike Stevens |
Maldon Hythe
Photo © Mike Stevens |
Waiting for the tide
Photo © Mike Stevens |
FRIDAY EVENING
The author
Photo © Libby Bradshaw |
Lesley Pryde
Photo © David Llewellyn |
I'd planned the menus and ordered the tinned and packet
bits of the shopping list from Tesco On-line. They duly arrived at about noon,
and had been checked and the rest of my gear got ready by 15:00 when my friend
Lesley Pryde (from S London IWA) arrived with her car and we set off for
Maldon. After an uneventful drive we stopped at a big Safeway on the outskirts
of Maldon to shop for the fresh food. Lesley is a professional chef and I was
glad to be able to pick her brains about the quantities we'd need.
Then we headed for the Hythe, where the barges moor, via a
detour round some of the back streets of Maldon because of what appeared to be
an accident in the High Street. We arrived on the quay at Maldon at almost the
same moments as our friends David & Mary Llewellyn (also from S London
IWA). On board Pudge we were greeted by our Mate for the weekend, Kevin
Burtonshaw. Kevin is a young man from an old barging family and has been one of
the TBSC Mates for some years. I've sailed with him many times, back to before
he was a Mate, and he was Mate on our charter last September.
Kevin Burtonshaw
Photo © Mike Stevens |
David & Mary Llewellyn 
Photos © Mike Stevens |
Next to arrive was Roger Squires (S London IWA) closely
followed by the Third Hand, Martin Phillips, then Libby Bradshaw (S London IWA)
who brought a friend, Jill Threlfall. It is unusual for TBSC to provide a Third
Hand on a charter weekend. In the Club's parlance "Third Hand" means a trainee
Mate, and Peter Boss, who arranges the crewing roster, had arranged with me
that we'd have one this weekend as the Club currently has a number of potential
Mates in training and Pete wants to give them experience of both the Club's
Barges. In fact Martin had served the Club as a Mate some years ago, not sailed
for some years and was now making a come-back. He was sailing with us this
weekend as Third Hand for a refresher course. I'd not sailed with him for
nearly 20 years.
David Mann
Photo © Mike Stevens |
Roger Squires
Photo © Mike Stevens |
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Libby Bradshaw
Photo © Mike Stevens,
May 1998 |
Jill Threlfall
Photo © Mike Stevens |
Martin Phillips
Photo © Mike Stevens |
By this time we were getting hungry. David and Mary
strolled off to find a fish-and-chip shop. The next arrival was David Mann
(from the internet community). This left one carload to arrive, so Libby, Jill,
Lesley, Roger and I went off to eat at the Jolly Sailor where we could
sit at an outside table and keep an eye on arriving vehicles. Our last group
was seen arriving just as I finished my rock eel poached in white wine (very
tasty), so I strolled back to Pudge to meet them.. They had already
introduced themselves to David L. This new contingent consisted of Glen Peckett
and Mandy Morley (from the internet community) and Mandy's husband Steve. I'd
known this trio for some years, and had got to know Steve & Mandy well when
we scrutineered the BCN Marathon Challenge together in 1999 (Click here for the story of that event).
For the weekend, as I'd not been encouraging about parking arrangements in
Maldon, they'd left their car at the home of a friend in Billericay, and he'd
driven them over to Maldon.
Steve & Mandy Morley
Photo © Libby Bradshaw |
Glen Peckett
Photo © Mike Stevens |
We all (except Mary who was grabbing a bit of shut-eye)
foregathered in the garden of the Queen's Head for a few more beers,
but were driven inside by a rain shower. Kevin and I continued our banter from
last year as to whether it was the Mate's or the Charterer's job to book the
good weather. More seriously, we had a discussion about whether or not to light
the barge's Rayburn stove. We decided to do so despite the hot weather, as I
felt that cooking for 14 folk on a single gas cooker would be something of a
struggle.
Geoff Harris
Photo ©
Mike Stevens |
A delivery
Photo © Mike Stevens |
By this time we'd joined up with Geoff Harris, our Skipper,
whom I'd last sailed with about ten years ago. Towards closing time we went
back to Pudge, as we were due to sail on the tide at around midnight. As
we were getting ready to sail, a couple of the charter party were co-opted to
help Kevin set up the navigation lights. On Pudge the port and starboard
lights (and also the anchor light which came into use later) are large paraffin
lamps. Jill came up the companionway with the green starboard lamp shining in
all its glory, followed by Steve with the red port light. Libby remarked that
there could have been a few remarks if it had been the other way round.
The barge Xylonite was moored outboard of us so
floated on an earlier stage of the tide than we did, and wasted no time getting
away. We followed them just about midnight, dropping down the river under
engine power. We were all on deck to see the departure until rain drove us into
the saloon, leaving the crew to bring the barge to an anchorage off Osea Island
at about 01:15.
The saloon
Photo © Mike Stevens |
Our mascot
Photo © Mike Stevens |
The Galley
Photo © Libby Bradshaw |
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