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1948 Holiday on the River Nene 1949 Peterborough to Leigh-on-Sea 1949 Building the Ninx   1950 Leigh-on-Sea and Benfleet

1949: Across to the Medway

THE TURBULENT SEA

From my previous articles on the “I Remember” theme, you will have gathered that, like the poet John Masefield, we suffered a severe bout of ‘Sea Fever’.

My brother, his wife, their little daughter Margaret, Geoff and I decided that we would cross the Thames and spend a holiday cruising along the River Medway. Preparations were soon underway. All five of us would travel aboard “The Puffin”; “The Ninx” would be towed behind.

The day on which we left the foreshore at Leigh, dawned bright and sunny but there was a stiff breeze. David go out with the tide and then moor in The Ray until the wind eased a little. Having “The Ninx” following behind, proved to be very useful as we had been able to load the little boat with quite a lot of gear and tackle. I remember saying, “We have everything but kitchen sink with us!”

Early evening, we left The Ray and were soon ploughing into the waves of the open sea. What we hadn’t realised was that, although the wind had abated, the sea had not. I think “The Puffin” did everything but stand on its head. Way out, beyond Southend Pier, the sea was really rough and Ella and I were convinced that we should send out an S.O.S. message to the Pier.

In the midst of the boat lurching and rolling, “The Ninx” broke loose from “The Puffin”. “Leave it! Leave it!”, I screamed. “Never”, shouted David. Geoff was at the tiller and swung the boat round for David to grab “The Ninx”. David missed it but called out, "Go round again and hit "The Ninx”. Geoff knew exactly what David meant. As Geoff hit the small boat, David was able to grab the painter and very securely re-attach it to “The Puffin”.

So on we sailed with the propeller rising out of the water for much of the time. We tossed and plunged into trough after trough. Ella and I were petrified. “If you count the waves, the seventh one is always the highest”, said David. “Then you have six calmer waves. If you do that, it might help you to feel less frightened,” he said comfortingly.

I well remember the sunset that evening. It was so vivid that it appeared to turn the water bright RED. We all laughed as I remarked “I never dreamt that we would be sailing on the Red Sea”. As we turned towards the Kent coast, darkness suddenly descended and the sea became calm. We could just make out the lights of Queenborough.

With torches probing the darkness, we approached a jetty - only to be informed it was Admiralty property. However, David spoke to somebody in authority and was granted permission to ‘tie up’ to a minesweeper. We had to cross over this naval vessel before we could reach dry land. Geoff and I pitched our tent on the first patch of green dry land we could find - only to find ourselves next morning camping in the garden of a Public House!

David also had a surprise that morning as, unknown to him, Ella or Margaret, the minesweeper left its moorings during the night and had, presumably, gone to sea. One of the crew must have untied “The Puffin” and re-tied it safely to the jetty. We must have all been so ‘dog-tired’ that all these manoeuvres took place without David or his family hearing or feeling a thing!

The remainder of the holiday was almost ‘plain sailing’ to Maidstone and than on to Yalding where we camped for a few days. We had a delightful rain-free week but Ella and I dreaded the return journey across the River Thames. However, as the saying goes, ‘All's well that ends well’ as, in the event, the sea was like a mill-pond all the way back to Leigh.

 

Go to Allan's Page Our Home Page Canals Home Page 1940's Home Page Go to Deb's Page
1948 Holiday on the River Nene 1949 Peterborough to Leigh-on-Sea 1949 Building the Ninx   1950 Leigh-on-Sea and Benfleet