I can hardly believe that we have already been here for 4 weeks! In some ways it is strange to be here – the choppy sea instead of the calm river; the gulls and fish instead of the coots and herons; the warships, ferries and yachts instead of the narrow boats, barges and sculls.
But in other ways it is familiar – our home waters, especially mine, having been brought up here, watching the ships in the harbour from an early age.
So what to report? I think four topics; wildlife, ships and boats, skies and family.
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Wildlife
Amazingly we still see a kingfisher, skimming the waters of the marina and occasionally perching on a pontoon or rail. And there are heron and cormorants in Haslar Creek, further up where it dries out at low tide.
There are gulls a-plenty, sparrows, crows and starlings in the shore, egrets stalking the pools amongst the rocks, and the war of the show, Whistler, a harris hawk.
Of course she is not flying wild here. She has been visiting with her handler to scare the starlings away from roosting on the rigging!
Shoals of tiny fish (no idea what they are!) constantly swim through the marina waters and much bigger grey mullet have been seen.
Then there are the jelly fish! I did not expect this at all. Of the six types of jellyfish known to inhabit the UK waters we have had two in the marina in the past fortnight!
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The compass jellyfish, seen swimming between our boat and the pontoon, quite toxic apparently, and about 10 cms across …..
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….. and a barrel jelly fish, about 50cm across, but so diaphanous and wobbly that the camera just could not pick it up distinctly.
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Ships and boats
Countless categories of ships and boats, moving and changing by the minute, have become our entertainment and education.
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Naval warships glide into harbour, with their radar domes appearing first above the roofs of HMS Dolphin…
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… to reveal their full glory as air defence destroyers (HMS Daring, Diamond, or Dauntless) ….
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.… or a patrol ship to protect our fishing interests (HMS Tyne) …
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…. an Antarctic research and survey vessel (Sir Ernest Shackleton) …
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… or even one of our remaining frigates (HMS St Albans).
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Huge freight ships and cross channel ferries move as gigantic chess pieces around the harbour board, sending their washes to rock us night and day.
Tall ships and small ships, arriving and departing, rushing and dallying, 24/7.
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Ocean going racers, training ships and living legends, our everyday vista.
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Skies and family
quite often a spitfire buzzes about
The sun comes up and goes down amongst the masts of hundreds of yachts.
The family flow in and out like the tide, sometimes all together!
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We do our duty, sometimes go to sea, and delight in the lights of nearby Portsmouth.
[There are far too many good blogs about barges and their voyages for me to compete, so this is just a snippety illustrated version of our (very exciting for us) journey.]
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September 22 : last night on the non-tidal Thames
Our last night, for now, moored up at Hampton Court enjoying river life. Excitement was building about the next few days, with every day holding something new for us to experience ……
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September 23 : Hampton Court to Isleworth
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Leaving Hampton Court, we glided down to Teddington Lock saying goodbye to Kingston as we passed.
Our objective was to reach the Isleworth draw dock close enough to high tide to tie up. We needed to become stranded on the pebbles in order for a different propeller to be fitted – one more suited to the off shore trip we were about to make.
We made it, and found a way to turn, and moor. Within half an hour we were bumping on the bottom and after about an hour we were high and dry.
Graham and Grant from Piper arrived and before long all the work was done, all the tea drunk and biscuits eaten … only kidding!
The London Apprentice helped us towards a good nights sleep while Calliope rose and fell with the overnight tides.
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September 24 : Isleworth to Gravesend
Today’s target – Gravesend – further down the tidal Thames than we had ever ventured before. Impatiently we watched the tide creep inch by inch over the mud and stones towards us, eventually lifting us and the swans to a ‘float free’ position.
We were off, against the last half hour of rising tide. Just below Kew the tide turned to be with us, speeding up progress downstream to a sturdy 7 knots.
London’s bridges were markers of our progress, and the famous landmarks began to appear.
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One wonderful addition to the littoral zone at Nine Elms on the South Bank was ‘The Rising Tide’ horse and riders sculptures was designed by the renowned underwater sculptor Jason deCaires Taylor. So lucky to see these temporary beauties as they were only on show for another week.
Houses of Parliament, London Eye (yes, I was drying the washing as we travelled through London!) ……..
………. O2, Greenwich and the Cutty Sark – all ticked off as we passed, and the Thames is changing into a wide commercial dockland vista.
Calliope passed on through the Thames Barrier …
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…… and under Queen Elizabeth II bridge.
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All the way, mainly running with the tide, the waters were relatively smooth and the only ‘choppiness’ was in the Port of London.
Before long, and sooner than expected, Gravesend was upon us.
A bit of a shock to find a tug tied up to the Town Pier mooring that we had booked, but we hitched ourselves alongside, negotiated with the crew, and soon it departed.
Right on time we were joined by friends Hilary and, (our pilot), Ray, both experienced coastal sailors. There was time to study tidal streams, charts and weather forecasts before a good fish and chip supper, some wine, and a stunning sunset to round off the day.
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September 25 : Gravesend to Ramsgate – c60 miles
Embarking on the outgoing tide we motored down the final stretch of the Thames ……
…. passing the paddle steamer Waverley on the way.
Our aim – to reach Ramsgate; our concern – North Foreland, where the North Sea meets the English Channel. The forecast was good with light winds and plenty of sunshine, and everything went swimmingly!
Passing the infamous North Foreland with relative ease …
we were able to enjoy the sight of Broadstairs ….
…. and soon we were in Ramsgate Harbour.
Sunset at Ramsgate Harbour marina
All was amazingly easier than we had anticipated. Well done Calliope! She seemed to almost relish the challenge of the sea.
A turn around the town for the crew, passing by the Ramsgate Home for Smack Boys, followed by home made shepherds pie and the inevitable glass or two of wine, ensured another good night’s slumber.
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September 26 : Ramsgate to Brighton – c80 miles
We left Ramsgate with a good weather forecast and tidal streams that were in our favour most of the way (I’m getting the hang of this nautical parlance!) We watched the sun rising behind some spectacular clouds and headed West.
Our apprehension levels were set high as we neared Dover and began to see giant ferries moving steadily in and out of the port, but pilot Ray was calm and confident, explaining the shipping lanes, exclusion zones etc. We let the Dover Harbour Master know of our intent, and everything was amazingly simple!
And we could see France. It’s much closer than Portsmouth!
Dover behind her, Calliope headed for Dungeness, leaving Folkestone to starboard and crossing the bay miles out to sea – or so seemed to Stewart and I! It took hours for Dungeness Power Station to grow from a block on the horizon to a full size power plant building.
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We rounded Dungeness Point with an intention of heading for Eastbourne Harbour, but a realisation that our weather window was closing made us decide to push on to Brighton – an 11 hour, 80 mile cruising day.
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This meant rounding Beachy Head and its lighthouse, dwarfed by enormous cliffs.
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Leaving Beachy Head in our wake
With Beachy Head behind us we could enjoy the beautiful Seven Sisters cliffs lit by the sinking sun.
Brighton Marina had out a Message to Mariners, explaining that we could not enter the marina an hour either side of high tide, so we gently wallowed off shore until 6.24 when we were welcomed in to a pleasant mooring.
After a visit to a local pub we enjoyed lamb stew on board before bed.
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September 27 : Brighton to Portsmouth – c40 miles
With the winds forecast to pick up, especially around Selsey Bill, skipper and crew planned an earlier departure from Brighton, even though it meant punching against the tide for a few hours.
The sea was moving more than previously, and Calliope bravely rolled, plunged, pitched and heaved. According to our sailor friends the seas were relatively calm, but compared to the upper reaches of the Thames we found it somewhat exhilarating, though never frightening.
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My supply of ginger goods (biscuits, tea, beer) kept mal de mer at bay, even round the choppiest waters off Selsey Bill, while skip took a break on the back deck.
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And then, wonderfully, the relative calm of the waters of The Solent. Calm enough for me to go below and cook a fried breakfast for all …. which went somewhat off course when I overloaded the power circuits and lost all electricity! Never mind – the bacon and tomatoes were cooked, bread replaced toast, the mushrooms had fried and the scrambled egg carried on thickening in the warm pan. Yum yum.
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Finally we could see Portsmouth’s Spinnaker Tower way in the distance – a waypoint to aim for in the last stages. Ray advised Stewart as he steered through the old submarine defences and into the small vessels channel …..
…. we entered Portsmouth Harbour, caught on camera by a friend, with Lesley deploying the fenders!
We were soon comfortably moored up at Haslar Marina and celebrated our arrival in style……..
……… where the sunsets are as magnificent as before.
Unique photos of newly hatched coot chicks at Shiplake Lock
A serenely serendipitous situation; we had just tied up at the lay-by for Shiplake lock, and were obviously in for a bit of a wait, so catching sight of yet another pair of coots building a nest just a few yards from the lay-by I picked up the camera.
I have rather a lot of similar photos, but this time the nest was in the reeds, and all green. No empty crisp packets or bits of rubber hosing in this nest construction!
Then as I waited for Mr Coot to return with the inevitable building material offering ……… I noticed a tiny red and yellow punky head peek out from below Mrs Coot!
She had a baby in the nest! Hooray. I have spent all summer trying to get a clear photo of a baby baby coot – and everything so far has been distant, blurry and frankly useless.
As I watched I became aware of the shrill squeek of a hungry young coot demanding food. It was coming from further along the reed bed.
Wow! ….. the first hatched of the brood had already ventured into the water and was making his hungry presence known to his father. This was one determined young creature, out to grab any morsel of food before it reached the nest and his (or could be her) siblings.
Back in the nest, Mrs Coot was apparently feeding egg shell to the other babies. I don’t know this as a biological fact, but it is my take on what she has in her mouth.
Her fascinating feet are so big, and protective, next to her young brood all bald as a coot!
The errant eldest chick returns …….
…. and takes on a perky sentry attitude …….
…… always on the watch for dad with some food!
He’s the adventurous one, off exploring again, then return to mum to nestle in for a rest.
Sad to leave them, and I have every finger crossed that at least some of the chicks survive the predatory pike, mink, buzzards, foxes and others higher up the food chain.
But, and sorry to use such a trite word, they are so cute! They are amazingly fluffy with their baby down, not yet able to shed water as they will do from their future feathers.
We have been lucky enough to see them at many stages of growth, usually brought to the boat for a photo shoot by proud parents!
There has been so much on line and in the media generally about NOT feeding them bread, so I have tried them on sunflower seeds and sweetcorn ……
…. which the cygnets sometimes manage to pick out of the water before they (the seeds and corn!) sink too low to be reached by short young necks and beaks. I have loved how the parent swans hold back from feeding themselves while the young are eating, and seeing off any predatory ducks or geese who think they will join in on feeding time. They seem to start quite pale in colour
…… becoming a delicate grey, with stubby little wings ……
….. until those famous brown ‘ugly duckling’ feathers arrive, but with the start of an elegant white neck and more noble head.
The wings begin to show as the cygnets move towards the beauty of …..
My strategy for enjoying the Thames this summer did not include coots, but I have become ridiculously absorbed and fascinated by these cute feisty birds.
It began a few months ago as I noticed them building their nests, working in pairs to make a safe haven for their eggs and their young.
Capturing photos of the nests was easy …..
But capturing photos of the newly hatched young is near impossible for a fidget like me! Every time I got within coot-sight of a nest, one parent would quickly and quietly lead the young chicks away, whilst the other parent acted as decoy and swam in the other direction!
When I did catch sight of them, I was amazed to find little black chicks with red/orange topknots on their heads – nothing cootlike in that.
I set myself the task of getting one of these chicks on film (or the digital equivalent), frantically calling to the Captain to slow the boat as we cruised by likely nests, or scrambling through undergrowth to sit with my feet in the river, as still as a fidget can be.
All I have achieved is a few blurred images.
As they grow, they move into the grey stage, losing their striking red/black look, and start to develop those enormous feet!
It seems that the parents then have no choice but to bring them out on the river in full view of all predators to feed them and teach them the rudiments of finding their own food.
Gradually the feathers darken towards black and the little monsters get ever hungrier, demanding constant feeding from both parents!
I am not sure what the next stage will be – I’ll keep watching as they develop into the bossy boots of the river, chasing much larger birds away from their breeding and feeding grounds, and stomping their big feet on their territory.
And as I emerge from the summer Thames tangle, I can report that it’s been great fun!
…. where we had our first night aboard and aground in our new home.
Before too long Special Delivery provided a splashdown for Calliope at Reading and we took charge!
Life at the Marina was crowded, but fun, with Spring sunshine making a reluctant appearance on days when Stu and crew were alone …….
…. and disappearing when we had visitors aboard! This was our first family cruise, to Sonning, Feb 15th.
The skies began to lighten, the days began to lengthen. We began to explore the river, rurally up to Goring (three times – we like it there – good pub, beautiful weir, wonderful wildlife) …..
…. and palatially, down to Windsor Palace (the Queen was in residence the first time we visited),
and Hampton Court (Henry VIII seemed to be away) ,
where Calliope was treated to a royal sail-by of the Queen’s ‘Gloriana’ on river trials for The Magna Carta 800th celebrations.
As the crew’s courage and capability grew, Calliope explored further downriver, through Kingston (where lurk Wednesday sailors) …
… to Richmond on the tidal Thames (where lurk river monsters and dangerous ‘Eddies’) ….
…. and on to be laid waste on The Grid at Chiswick for bow thruster inspection (nice pub there too!)
It was then time to trace the source of the Thames, so an upstream voyage was plotted. Passing through many locks …
… under many bridges including Wallingford, a town of much history and beauty ….
… past Henley, well before the Regatta ….
… onward to Oxford, where the Thames transmogrified into the Isis, the bridges became smaller – superb helmsmanship from Capt Carr …
… and the river-side buildings were grand.
Whatever next I wonder???
I have heard tell of brave consideration of a trip to Limehouse!
It’s great when we get to be at the front of a BIG lock going upstream. It’s the closest I get to white water rafting when the sluices are opened! Hard to get a photo that even begins to convey this, but these few at Benson Lock give a slight feel of the calm and storm of the action!
The calm – moving towards the lock …..
….. the stillness within the depths of the lock.
The storm – a deluge, nay a torrent, of water pours through the sluices from above. Calliope rocks and heaves on her ropes ….
…. until we float to the top of the lock and gently move out onto the next reach of the Thames.
It’s a bit different here on the upper reaches of the Thames (or should I say Isis?) The scenery is flatter, more meadows ….
and, a delight for me, more farm animals. (I can lay off Farmville and Smurf Village for a while and get my rural kicks for real).
Stewart kept calling “Cow!” and I rushed for the camera – all colours, sizes and ages.
So what has this to do with jams? Well it was the ‘jam-prelude’. We cruised up from Goring, enjoying the red kites and pastoral views, planning to moor at Wallingford, which has a beach by its bridge………
We arrived to find ‘Jam 1’ – a boat jam. Every possible mooring place was jammed full and there was no room for Calliope. Disappointed, and hungry, as lunch was to be prepared and eaten at Wallingford, we pottered on upstream looking for somewhere, which became ‘anywhere’ to moor.
Eventually. eating as we pottered, we came under my favourite bridge so far – Clifton Hampden – and here it is ….
Beautiful, but will Calliope fit through those gothic arches? Yes, a perfect squeeze from the Captain saw us pottering on.
And this bridge became the site of ‘Jam 2’, the traffic jam. Walking up to try out the local beer (Hook Norton) at The Barley Mow we found the bridge jammed in both directions, apparently due to an accident nearby. How wonderful to walk across in the early evening sun and sit in the pub garden watching the jammed. Smug? No, appreciative of our new life style.
The final jam, ‘Jam 3’, occurred at Culham Lock this morning – one of the deepest locks on the river, and today un-manned. This means self service, with quite a lot of boats gong in both directions, some of whom are not familiar with operating the locks. One boater managed to upset the lock operating system which itself jammed (oh, Jam 4!), thus resulting in a very slow filing and emptying of the lock.
No photos I’m afraid. It was raining a bit, and also required lots of concentration to have ropes in the right place at the right time. But we did meet a nice man who lives on a barge at Limehouse and is cruising up river on his very pretty old motor launch, with his cat. The cat wears a life jacket and a lead, and came with his owner onto Calliope for a cup of tea while we waited and waited for the jam to clear!
Of course she is not flying wild here. She has been visiting with her handler to scare the starlings away from roosting on the rigging!
about 50cm across, but so diaphanous and wobbly that the camera just could not pick it up distinctly.
.… or a patrol ship to protect our fishing interests (HMS Tyne) …
Unique photos of newly hatched coot chicks at Shiplake Lock
goodshipcalliope 