Endeavour has always supported Regatta despite its clashing with the Classic Boat Show at St Katharine’s Dock, to which she is always invited. I can remember the days, back in the 50s, when the fishermen from boats like Endeavour joined in the fun.
Sadly, a crew could not be found for Saturday 7th, so Endeavour was left, dressed overall, on her mooring opposite the Peterboat, where those with enquiring minds are always able to get the answers to most of their questions from the information display close by.
Chris Burls, Andy Lewis and Justin Hitchcock did get aboard on Sunday 8th and, after taking shelter in the cabin during a downpour, took her down to Bell Wharf, still with all flags flying, to give the public a closer look.
The Hoy Shantymen, who had been singing around town, came aboard as soon as the tide made sufficiently and gave a rip-rousing performance to an appreciative crowd.
You will forgive us if, solely for the purposes of a dramatic narrative, we jump forward to the following morning, rather further north in the UK, specifically in the city of Nottingham where Trustee and newsletter editor Fraser Marshall saw a Facebook message from a gentleman that works for the Peterboat: “Endeavour has broken adrift! Give me a call!”
Fraser deduced that the sender of the message had seen Endeavour out of her usual mooring. When you look at the photo in the top right of the next page, it’s not hard to see why our sender was so concerned!
Worse still, the message was dated 18:20 the previous evening. If Endeavour had slipped her mooring sometime before 18:20 the previous evening, there would have been another tide in the middle of the night, and the risk to other vessels from her floating about randomly - not to mention Endeavour herself - was worryingly high.
Living so far from Leigh-on-Sea, the only thing Fraser could do was contact members of the Trust better placed to help. His initial call was to Chris Burls. His wife Connie answered. Fraser asked for Chris but was told in a quiet voice that her husband was asleep. Fraser was surprised to hear this as it was nearly nine o’clock and Chris is infamous for being constantly busy with one project or another. He persevered, “Endeavour’s apparently slipped her mooring” and the importance was immediately understood. Chris appeared on the line, somewhat dozy from his abrupt waking, and was briefed.
Fraser carried on with his day, nervously awaiting news from Chris, and about twenty minutes later his phone rang. “I’ve just had a word with a member, who lives in the old town right opposite the mooring and he confirmed she’s lying there as normal! Panic over!”
Chris then told a tale! The Regatta began to die down around Bell Wharf by 1730 and, it being an hour and a half after high water, Endeavour slipped and made her way back up to the Creek to her mooring.
Mooring Endeavour on the ebb tide has always posed a problem, as bawleys are traditionally moored with their head into the flood stream. This was because they invariably returned to Leigh on the flood tide. This problem is further aggravated, if a steel bawley is on the mooring immediately east of Endeavour as she lies further into the Creek. Our mooring was deliberately laid closer to the shore to reduce the risk of collision with moving working boats.
The previous paragraph is in mitigation to the events that followed! Due to a misunderstanding over the plan of attack on the mooring, Endeavour found herself across the Creek and being set onto the stern of the Mary Maria on the mooring below. To avoid contact, Endeavour was given a sufficient kick astern to get clear but it was not sufficient to avoid sticking her stern on the shallows on the south of the Creek. Despite all efforts to dislodge her, there she stayed as the tide continued to fall by a couple of centimetres every minute!
Those on board had a cuppa, while a plan of action was made! Not for the first time, Andy—as at home in the water as on it—volunteered to recover the dinghy from the mooring by swimming over the Creek. At least the water is still warm in September!
The anchor was laid out to hold the bow as close as possible to the Creek edge and the crew were sent home with the promise to return at 3 am the next day.
By the time the Creek had dried, Endeavour lay at a steep ‘down by the head’ angle so the ‘night watchman’ wedged himself in the cabin to wait for the water to return. At 0200 an engine could be heard approaching and sure enough the first cockle boat home was coming in! By illuminating Endeavour’s position and the use of fenders she squeezed by and on to her berth to discharge.
30 minutes or so later the flood tide pushed Endeavour’s bow round with her stern still pivoting in the shallows, to effectively close the Creek so the next boat in was forced to take a turn and wait for a while.
The trusty crew returned at 0300 and within 30 minutes, Endeavour was afloat and the Creek open again. To moor on the flood was simple!!! All was well that ended well with Endeavour back on her mooring and undamaged.
 |
| Andy and Justin |
The following Friday the same three (although others were invited) went for a thank you and celebration sail around the estuary.
No comments:
Post a Comment
Thank you for your message. I'm afraid that to prevent spam, all comments are moderated but we will aim to approve it quicker than it takes to redo Endeavour's anti-fouling...