RCC Christmas Cruise.

[oldgit]

Every year the most entrepid members of the of the club go up to the freshwater part of the River Medway at Allington for the last trip of the year,long after most sensible boaters have locked up and gone into hibernation.This curiously seems to attract a selection of the biggest boats in the club,most of which seemed to have bagged spots right outside the Malta pub and the crews appeared to have ventured no further.In total sixteen boats squeezed into the already packed mooring at the lock.
All the EA staff were extremely helpful,especially Steve who allowed yours truely to park at the pumpout in order to get some shorepower.My previous effort of connecting five leads together to get to the socket (due to being third boat out)only resulted in my overloading the entire system and it all cut out.
Main problem was going up early enough for all the Flys to get under Aylesford Bridge but which gave water underneath to keep the props wet.
True to November it was blimming freezing.
Just a few pix to give the feel of the day.(DAMP)
As the new boy had to follow the senior boats

A Broom.

This boat belongs to a forumite ?

A brace of T36 made it up

Locking out the tall ones go first

That Bridge on the way down,get it wrong and you have to wait four boring hours for the tide to turn and go out enough,this would have meant missing the specially delayed Sunday lunch back at the club.

Think we probably got our £5.00 overnight mooring fee back what the the heater being on all night.
Thanks again to all the lock staff who turned out to look after us including Tim who put us back into the salty bit on Sunday.

Ps.anybody know where i can get a cheapo set of sliding doors made up for the back of the boat.....Brrrrrrr.

 

[byron]

Ps.anybody know where i can get a cheapo set of sliding doors made up for the back of the boat.....Brrrrrrr.

Seriously! It isn't as difficult or as expensive as you would think. Any windows company that specialises in patio doors could do it simply and within a day.

 

[boatone]

Xmas Cruise ?????

Bah, humbug !!!

How can you call it a 'Xmas Cruise' / Well over a month before Xmas.

'Spose you'll be having a New Year Cruise next weekend and maybe an Easter Cruise around Valentine's Day?

Course it's bloody cold without any patio doors - or even with 'em if there's no heater running. It's WINTER fer chrisakes !!!

Actually, old chap, I think you and, particularly, Sue are very brave and foolhardy venturing on such a trip. Even managed to get most of the pics approximately straight , as well.

I am cautiously planning a daunting voyage from the crane bay to a berth on pontoon D ( or is it C or Z?) which will tax my addled brain for many anxious minutes in the not too distant future. Fancy coming along as crew (but you'll need to bring lifejackets, duvets, bovril etc)? At least the radar and satnav seem to be working.

 

[oldgit]

Bah, humbug !!!

How can you call it a 'Xmas Cruise' / Well over a month before Xmas.

'Spose you'll be having a New Year Cruise next weekend and maybe an Easter Cruise around Valentine's Day?

Course it's bloody cold without any patio doors - or even with 'em if there's no heater running. It's WINTER fer chrisakes !!!

Actually, old chap, I think you and, particularly, Sue are very brave and foolhardy venturing on such a trip. Even managed to get most of the pics approximately straight , as well.

I am cautiously planning a daunting voyage from the crane bay to a berth on pontoon D ( or is it C or Z?) which will tax my addled brain for many anxious minutes in the not too distant future. Fancy coming along as crew (but you'll need to bring lifejackets, duvets, bovril etc)? At least the radar and satnav seem to be working.

Thanks for the tip Byron !


and as for the daunting trip....will need written assurances that the forward scanning sonar is fully functioning and that its operator is capable of using it correctly........what with certain previous episodes of running aground ....ahem etc.

 

[boatone]

.....what with certain previous episodes of running aground ....ahem etc.

Still traumatised by that encounter you had with Chiswick Eyot eh? !!

Just been looking at the RCC website Committee page - never seen so many faceless men .......

 

[Ramage]

Bah! you total wimp!!

Marian, Alex and I spent Sunday doing a Powerboat 2 Tidal assessment between the 02 and Tower Bridge.

Stacks of fun bombing around in a Humber RIB, dodging the Thames Clippers and their wake...

Forgot to wear boots so had cold wet feet all day. It was somewhat bracing out there, especially when we hit a big wave and it came over the bow!


Found myself airborne a couple of times on bigger waves, and boy did the landing jar my back.

It's boating Jim, but not as we know it!

 

[apollo]

Bah! you total wimp!!

Marian, Alex and I spent Sunday doing a Powerboat 2 Tidal assessment between the 02 and Tower Bridge.

Stacks of fun bombing around in a Humber RIB, dodging the Thames Clippers and their wake...

Forgot to wear boots so had cold wet feet all day. It was somewhat bracing out there, especially when we hit a big wave and it came over the bow!


Found myself airborne a couple of times on bigger waves, and boy did the landing jar my back.

It's boating Jim, but not as we know it!

Thats good experience for your first Rochester Trip dude!!

 

[Ramage]

The ATYC rally is down that way this year too.

Many thanks to the good people of the Docklands Scout Project who ran the course. Alex & Marian will be back there next weekend doing a Safety boat course in the Dock. Sadly I will be working....

 

[apollo]

Bah, humbug !!!
How can you call it a 'Xmas Cruise' / Well over a month before Xmas.

S'funnny, i thought with all the ads on telly that it already was Xmas..?

and maybe an Easter Cruise around Valentine's Day?

Nah, easter starts on Boxing Day when the shops start flogging the Eggs..

..Do Keep up old fella?

 

[byron]

Bah, humbug !!!

How can you call it a 'Xmas Cruise' / Well over a month before Xmas.

The Oxford Ditch have been known to have a Christmas Dinner.... In July.
In fact that's when Pheran first became associated with the club. He and Ann were minding their own business having lunch at the Beetle & Wedge when he was hauled out to judge the table decorations. They wanted an independent judge and saw a boat at the B&W so went and kidnapped the owner, no one knew him and he must have thought "W.T.F is happening a bunch of nutters have grabbed me and taken me across the river." I think that might have been the same day I was peed on by a Camel.

 

[pheran]

I remember that incident well which was when the B&W offered dining in fine style, certainly equal to today's Johnny-come-Latelys at Bray. I was entertaining a group of US businessmen on behalf of HM Govt and thought a riverside dinner might impress. So private dining room organised and owners warned this could be their big break. Then I was kidnapped as described above. Judging the best table for the ODCC wasn't the problem - getting away from the likes of B Alexander and one John Blake certainly was. ''C'mon, have another drink, you deserve it' 'No, I must get back, I've people to meet' 'We'll take you in a minute'
There was I, in all my finery as my life flashed before me - was this the way my hitherto meteoric rise to fame in the service of Her Majesty to come to an inglorious end? Eventually they relented (I realised after the event that I had probably picked the 'wrong' winner!) and took me back, literally seconds before the Americans arrived. I still kid myself that the whisky JB poured down me probably made me more expansive and entertaining - we got the result we wanted out of the evening anyway.

ps many thanks for the good wishes received here and more particularly off-line. Much appreciated. Mending well and will live to annoy other river users for at least one more season.

 

[No Regrets]

Good to see you back online Chris!

 

[pheran]

Good to see you back online Chris!

Thank you for those kind words, Young Sir. Just goes to show not all Broom owners are bad eggs!!

 

[byron]

Thank you for those kind words, Young Sir. Just goes to show not all Broom owners are bad eggs!!

Unlike NB owners who smell like them (just kidding)