Just heard the shipping forecast

Fab day on the river lifting moorings at Marconi today - sunny, cold, not too windy. We put in a long day then called the Sunday teams and cancelled moorings retrieval for tomorrow. Discretion, valour etc.
 
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Six millibars in two hours. Woodbridge at 24.00.
 
Currently 35-40kts, gusting up to 48kts. Very cold and stinging rain.

Woken at 04:30 by the sound of the adjacent boats jib flogging where the wind had unraveled a section of sail halfway up the forestay. The pocket of sail was ragging at the forestay and making a hell of a noise. Now securely lashed with the main halyard.
 
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PVB beat me to it.

first time I have ever seen it move - sad sight.
 
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Dover Harbour Control just updated us here, 65 knots gusting 73 knots at eastern entrance. Ferry movements are suspended.
I hate to think what the western entrance looks like.
 
pvb said:
According to the Shotley webcam, there's a visitor lurking outside on the mud...

View attachment 61171
Click to expand...

I'm curious about the history of this boat (no I don't want to buy it :-) . It always reminds me of Jean Yves Terlain's "Vendredi Treize" from the 1972 OSTAR - triple-masted foresails only schooner rig. According to this website there was a sister ship, named "Friday Star" if you view the page in French, and bizarrely "Saturday Star" if you get Google to translate it to English.
 
MikeBz said:
I'm curious about the history of this boat (no I don't want to buy it :-) . It always reminds me of Jean Yves Terlain's "Vendredi Treize" from the 1972 OSTAR - triple-masted foresails only schooner rig. According to this website there was a sister ship, named "Friday Star" if you view the page in French, and bizarrely "Saturday Star" if you get Google to translate it to English.
Click to expand...

She was originally HMS Beckford P3104, built in 1953 as a Seaward Defence Boat, of galvanised steel. She has triple screws, using the central one for passage making. Apparently she was a "Ford" class, built by Simons and completed in 1955. 100ft long and 19.8ft beam.

After completion in June 1955, she spent some time in Reserve before being refitted in 1964. In December 1964 she joined the Mersey Division RNR as their seagoing Tender, and was renamed HMS Dee. In 1968 she was loaned to the Plessey Group for a period for radar trials and renamed "Robert Clive". Then in January 1969 she rejoined the Mersey Division and reverted back to HMS Dee. In 1982 she was on the Disposal List at Devonport, and was sold in 1984 to Pounds Marine Shipping of Portsmouth.

Originally fitted with a Foden diesel on the centre shaft (giving a heady 4 knots) and two Paxman 550hp diesels on the outer shafts (giving 14 knots). The three masts were fitted about thirty years ago, making her into a three masted staysail schooner. She's looked pretty sad for many years, but here's a pic of her in service.

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