Sunday, September 16, 2007

Hard Seed in Ramsgate

It's good to browse through the entries in yacht club visitors' books. You come across entries from sailors from around the corner, or across the ocean and every entry suggests a story; well every voyage is tale waiting to be told, or that's what I think anyway.

Last week Renegade was in Ramsgate and, as the crew was taking modest refreshment in the Royal Temple Yacht Club, I chanced to see that Hard Seed had visited in August. Now Hard Seed appears on the UFO List and is registered in Chatham, but I didn't recognise the name of the skipper. Has there been a change of ownership? UFO News must be told!

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

Adrian

No, Hard Seed does not have a new owner. I think one of the crew made the entry in the visitors book at the Royal Temple while I went straight to the Bar!

We stopped in Rasmsgate on the way back from Holland and while we were in Zierikzee Ufox moored immediately in front of us.

Jonathan

Adrian said...

Good News! I was looking out for Hard Seed when visiting Chatham last week, but didn't see her. Is she moored in the river or a marina?
Renegade was on her way back from the west country and after Ramsgate we explored the Swale, which is quite an adventure for us from north of The River. After Kingsferry lifting bridge, we avoided Queenborough, having exhausted its modest delights before and anchored in Black Stump Creek for the night. What an amazing place. Although dominated by the Isle of Grain power station chimney, the call of curlews and feeling of remoteness was extraordinary.
Renegade took the morning tide through the fog (with new radar assistance) and made her way to Gillingham Marina for the crew to visit the Chatham
Historic Dockyard. It's quite a walk from Gillingham, especially if the waysigns have been turned around to confuse foreigners like us. We spent all day at the dockyard and would have gone back for more the next day, but couldn't get access from the Chatham Sailing Centre pontoon, so we slipped our temporary mooring there and punched the tide back to Sheerness with the new cruising chute flying bravely until it got wrapped around the forestay. Then, by Oaze Deep, The Warp, West Swin, Middle Deep, Whitaker, Wallet Spitway and The Wallet, Renegade made a lightning passage back to the Orwell and was on her home mooring just after dark.
p.s. Is there a more convenient visitor's mooring for visiting Chatham Dockyard