East Coast Diary

[pks1702]

Thanks guys,

It certainly is a different place than this time last year.

I doubt we will ever let our guard down but as time goes on I hope we can 'look over our shoulder' less.

[senator]

Fantastic news Perry, Hopefully Tina's fighting spirit will ensure that the nasty C is beaten for good.

Your latest set of pics from the Walton Backwaters bought back memorys, We were up there in the Dinghy 2 hours before high water and managed to drag the bottom up by the Town Hard, had to Borrow a Yatch club pontoon to visit the town.

They do seem a very friendly lot but it made me wonder why anyone would take a home berth anywhere that you could only get in and out for a max of 2 hours a tide.

Ian

[pks1702]

Ian.

They do seem a very friendly lot but it made me wonder why anyone would take a home berth anywhere that you could only get in and out for a max of 2 hours a tide.

I concur it is very limiting but then so are a number of places on the East Coast, Heybridge and to a lesser extend Woodbridge spring to mind.

[mbird]

What fantastic news for Tina and yourself.

Best wishes to you both.

[jillR]

hi perry

the first battle seems to have been won

thats brilliant news, im so pleased for you both.

jill

[pks1702]

Thanks Mark&Jill

Heading to the boatshow at Present

[pks1702]

What a weekend for the time of year

Arriving at Shotley in the dark on Friday night the Stour looked like a glass sheet is was so still, I have not seen it this way in our time down there.

Saturday saw us having a destination conflab with David & Rachel and we decided to go 'buzz' Lord Paul's ancestral home 'Rough's Tower' or better know as Sealand.

A lot of information about the history and goings on at Sealand which is worth reading:

http://www.bobleroi.co.uk/ScrapBook/Sea ... aland.html

http://www.bobleroi.co.uk/ScrapBook/Sea ... aland.html

http://www.bobleroi.co.uk/ScrapBook/Sea ... _Fire.html

http://www.bobleroi.co.uk/ScrapBook/Sea ... ire_2.html

http://www.bobleroi.co.uk/ScrapBook/Sea ... re_3a.html

http://www.bobleroi.co.uk/ScrapBook/Sea ... re_4a.html

Rough's Tower is 7-8 miles offshore off the Suffolk coast although our round trip from Shotley saw us clock 21 miles. The weather and sea state were perfect you don't get many of these and we did not even have any bait

A few snaps light was very odd so they are nothing to write home about. The sea state was so calm David brought Kingfisher alongside unfendered where I passed my P&S and he kindly took some shots of Kiki. I reckon David has been hiding his light under a bushel where photography is concerned

Inbound

Rod's Taxi

Land Disappearing

Get the Kettle on Lord Paul

Kingfisher and Sealand

Kiki and Sealand

Kiki under Way

Edit to correct spelling errors

[Antares_9]

Looks to me like I missed a bit of the subject on each shot, it’s normally the heads of people.

The shots just accentuate how calm it was, we should have carried on and had lunch in Neiwport.

[Palmtree]

Hi,

That looks like one of the best weekends of the year!

Ian

[pks1702]

A bit more

See from 1.47

[Jupes]

Just caught up with your thread Perry and fantastic to hear of your and Tina's good news......

The sea conditions looked superb on your photos.... wish we got more of those.....

[pks1702]

Thanks Rod & Jupes.

The well wishes have been sincerely appreciated by us from all

[pks1702]

Apologies... I understand what you mean now David

I have reduced the image sizes so they will fit a smaller screen, I really must brush up on how to make a external link click-able to size up.

[Guest]

We were lucky enough to have had the past week on the boat, and what a week!

Excellent pictures Perry, and our very belated congrats on the news re Tina.

Phil and Carron

[pks1702]

Thanks Phil & Carron,

Hope you are both well.

You know how to pick your weeks on the boat

[Antares_9]

Oi Phil, didn't know you had a new ship.

[senator]

Looks like a nice trip out, seem to remember seeing somewhere that sealand is the smallest principality in europe or the world or something, does that not make lord paul king paul?

[Boaters]

Tina and Perry so glad to hear your good news

[pks1702]

Thanks Roy.

[pks1702]

Rod said

wonder if he gets to see what is going on in the secretive other leg though?

Even with a few local contacts the best I can come up with is a data storage facility which of course is not governed by UK (or any other ) laws.

The other leg is reputed to contain Lord Paul's Brandy stocks

Pretty sure the data storage/internet business (Havenco) finished in early 2008 after a fallout between the Bates family and their American partner. I doubt the fire in 2006 did it much good as a 'secure' site'.

[C.Ricko]

I had vever realised all the accomodation was in the legs, I assumed it was all on top

Anyway when they filled it with water to put the fire out why not just drill a hole in the bottom to let it out again?

does anyone know what its life expectancy may be?

[andyfish]

How many weeks hire could you get out of that Clive?

WILL NOT FIT UNDER POTTER HEIGHAM OR WROXHAM BRIDGES!

Andy

[pks1702]

Thanks Rod fascinating.

I too could not find anything on the design life but they are fairly substantial structures but clearly won't last forever.

The Thames Forts e.g. Re Sand & Shivering Sand are more lightly built and are in a state of decay. There are a group of enthusiasts looking to preserve the Red Sand http://www.project-redsand.com/index.htm

Tongue Fort which was of the same ilk as Sealand (Rough's Tower) collapsed in a storm in 1996.

Tongue Tower had been abandoned by the MoD in 1947 it's caretaker crew being taken off as parts of the fort fell into the sea

Over the year the years scavengers removed many fittings

In 1966 a visiting team from Radio Essex at Knock John alerted Margate Lifeboat with billowing black smoke from burning cable insulation to retrieve the copper

They were told those on-board represented the fictitious Radio Albatross, questions were asked in the House of Commons

Tongue was to finally succumb to the elements over the night of 21/22nd February 1996 when a force 11 storm finally toppled the buckled southern leg taking the top house with it away all that remains today is 6 meters of the northern leg

[pks1702]

SWMBO is back in hospital this later this week so she fancied a relaxing 'marina' weekend, and who am I to deny that.

The wind started to increase in the early hours of Staurday morning and by the time David & Rachel arrived it was flexing its muscles quite nicely

Not ones to be put off from a Yacht Club event at Ipswich Kingfisher exited Shotley to a pretty bumpy Stour & Orwell.

The photo's are not very good as they are zoomed with a P&S I wished I had my proper gear to have done justice to Kingfisher kicking aside the chop. The distance I was away also flattened off the sea but it was a 'little' bit inclement for the rivers

Tides were very high this weekend with the main Shotley Peninsula road near the Orwell Bridge part flooded, probably the highest tide since our time at Shotley. The floating ramp down from the Car Park to the Marina pontoons was horizontal rather than the normal 45 degree ish angle.

[Guest]

now thats what i am talking about give me that anyday

David you must have had fun taking KingFisher out in that weather

Jonny