After three days inland we'd had enough. Rochester was fine, Medway Bridge Marina was a village in it's own right, and the bar well - nuff said! We had a fine time, but I was starting to get itchy feet. The muddy, silty banks of the river were no comparison for the beaches we were now used to. I might also add that there was a rather disturbing pong when at low water, it's best not to consider the source of the smell!
We had two options, the weather forecast was not much better than when we entered the Medway. Friday, once the preferred option was not looking so good. We thought we might try Queenborough, just off the Isle of Sheppey. At Queenborough we would be tied onto a Buoy for the night, with the dinghy being our only option for getting ashore. We gave ourselves two options, one, Ramsgate, two Queenborough. The thought was that if we got onto the Thames and it was a bit rough we could turn back and head in to Queenborough. We stocked up on provisions and set off round to the diesel quay, keen to get back off the river and into cleaner water.
That was the plan..... We fired round to the diesel quay, we were almost there. I was stood up front, rope at the ready when..... stop! We were back on the bottom, flipping rivers!!! I looked down as the engines continued to try and run, huge swathes of silty dirt, with what looked like pieces of wood swirled around us. Martyn managed to back us off the bottom and we decided to head for Gillingham where we knew we could get diesel outside the marina. That would have been the end of it if the slurry hadn't clogged up the filters on the engine. A clogged up filter meant that the gear box and exhausts had no way of cooling down so we had to try and stop in the middle of the river and clear them out. We thought initially it was only the one engine, it was actually both. I managed to steady the boat with one engine running whilst Martyn had his head stuck under the floorboards sorting out the other. Eventually we got the worst of the two clear enough to continue to Gillingham - phew - what a palaver! The river was very low all the way so it was slow work but we made it and radioed Gillingham for diesel.
We had two options, the weather forecast was not much better than when we entered the Medway. Friday, once the preferred option was not looking so good. We thought we might try Queenborough, just off the Isle of Sheppey. At Queenborough we would be tied onto a Buoy for the night, with the dinghy being our only option for getting ashore. We gave ourselves two options, one, Ramsgate, two Queenborough. The thought was that if we got onto the Thames and it was a bit rough we could turn back and head in to Queenborough. We stocked up on provisions and set off round to the diesel quay, keen to get back off the river and into cleaner water.
That was the plan..... We fired round to the diesel quay, we were almost there. I was stood up front, rope at the ready when..... stop! We were back on the bottom, flipping rivers!!! I looked down as the engines continued to try and run, huge swathes of silty dirt, with what looked like pieces of wood swirled around us. Martyn managed to back us off the bottom and we decided to head for Gillingham where we knew we could get diesel outside the marina. That would have been the end of it if the slurry hadn't clogged up the filters on the engine. A clogged up filter meant that the gear box and exhausts had no way of cooling down so we had to try and stop in the middle of the river and clear them out. We thought initially it was only the one engine, it was actually both. I managed to steady the boat with one engine running whilst Martyn had his head stuck under the floorboards sorting out the other. Eventually we got the worst of the two clear enough to continue to Gillingham - phew - what a palaver! The river was very low all the way so it was slow work but we made it and radioed Gillingham for diesel.
You meet many characters when you travel from place to place and boating is certainly no exception. The chap that came to refuel us looked like he had worked there for some time and was great at giving advise. He thought it was a good day for a trip to Ramsgate and advised a six hour trip - he was spot on. At the point of re-fuelling Martyn had managed to put the mast back up but still had the floorboards up trying to complete the cleaning of the filters. "I'll untie the ropes jump on" Oh no, the back rope was off, we only had one engine running, then the front rope. Martyn had to jump into action quick and get the second engine going. The guy had thrown the ropes on board but they were also slightly hanging over the side. We usually take the back rope off completely to reduce the risk of it falling in the water next to the props, but I couldn't get to it and didn't want to fall in. I secured it as best I could and attended the front ropes. It was all getting a bit 'Carry on boating'! You can't beat helpful people eh?! Martyn managed to get the back rope off eventually and we continued our course to Ramsgate.
There are many Martello towers on this stretch of river and all of them have what appear to be abandoned boats surrounding them, at low water it really is an unusual sight. We passed Sheerness with it's many tug boats and the sunken ship that sits just outside the Medway channel. You can just see it's masts sticking out of the water like a ghost ship!
It was a slow course, travelling at only about 6 knots, we would have had to wait an additional three hours to get the tide to help us and take us up to 8 knots. It didn't matter, it was a very enjoyable trip, choppy at times but nothing to worry about. It was nice to be able to pinpoint Whitstable, Herne Bay and Margate. It would have been good to have taken some better pictures but we were too far out for my camera. As we approached the North Foreshore we passed a ships anchoring ground where a huge naval ship sat among the tankers. It was a spooky site with none of them moving. As Martyn commented later, you really do get the feeling that they're all watching you!
There are many Martello towers on this stretch of river and all of them have what appear to be abandoned boats surrounding them, at low water it really is an unusual sight. We passed Sheerness with it's many tug boats and the sunken ship that sits just outside the Medway channel. You can just see it's masts sticking out of the water like a ghost ship!
It was a slow course, travelling at only about 6 knots, we would have had to wait an additional three hours to get the tide to help us and take us up to 8 knots. It didn't matter, it was a very enjoyable trip, choppy at times but nothing to worry about. It was nice to be able to pinpoint Whitstable, Herne Bay and Margate. It would have been good to have taken some better pictures but we were too far out for my camera. As we approached the North Foreshore we passed a ships anchoring ground where a huge naval ship sat among the tankers. It was a spooky site with none of them moving. As Martyn commented later, you really do get the feeling that they're all watching you!
We began our approach to Ramsgate Harbour. Believe it or not, I had no idea that a ferry came in and out of Ramsgate! So what happened next was a big surprise! We struggle with our radio as the boat is so noisy inside. Martyn has to stand on a box with his ear to the radio if we are under power, one day we will fit the sound proofing! This means that usually I have no idea of incoming transmissions. Martyn had spent the day before preparing for the approach, however it was quite busy with lots of fast moving boats. I think we timed it quite badly, just as all the boats from the wind farms were coming back in and anyone else who had been out to sea that day. We reached the small vessel waiting area and radioed for permission to cross the channel and enter the harbour. 'Channel' should have been a clue to me, but I just thought general shipping channel as we had come across many times before. We made contact with the Port authority who told us just to come straight in, no need to cross the channel. Martyn looked confused, I was confused at his confusion. I could also see some extremely fast boats heading our way, creating a big wash, now we don't take wash from the stern very well, it all goes a bit roly poly so I was worried. Martyn quickly accelerated and we began to head for the harbour entrance, then we were called! We were asked to change our course and move out of the channel as we wouldn't make it before the ferry, ferry? What ferry? Ooh that big white thing behind us! No problem, we were just slightly embarrassed about being too slow - well she is called Elephant Daze! We turned around and headed out of the channel, good job we did. We spotted a boat heading our way at some rate of knots obviously trying to get ahead of said ferry. This was the biggest wave yet, the front end of the boat went right into the water and then threw it right back over the roof, the balsamic vinegar was almost a victim, but I got to it just in time - well saved! It took us a few minutes to compose ourselves, before asking for permission to enter. It was granted along with an apology for the inconvenience, bet it was some sight watching Elephant Daze plough into that wave. Following the usual confusion of trying to contact the Marina on entry, and another partial grounding, we finally got berthed up for the night. We did so just in time as the wind got up and the rain came down, a well needed refresher for both us and the weather.
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