Friday, November 02, 2018

The sighs and lows of a tidal harbour

This time last month, I was in a state of bemused dismay as to where September had gone. Now I'm feeling much the same about October, although I haven't lost it quite so completely.





It's been a busy month boat wise. Koos and I have been doing jobs on the Hennie H at weekends, we took the Vereeniging out for a revival run, and I've been working on the her during the week between teaching and sleeping. You'll notice the absence of green in one of the side panels below. That's because I'm taking them out one by one and replacing them with new panels. I've done three on each side now, although number 3 on this side is awaiting re-fitting. But aside from my seasonal disinclination (see last week's moan), the weather hasn't been helping and it's caused me some unnecessary time messing about in the little boat rescuing ropes that have gone astray; hence the sighs. Let me explain:


The pink section is where I've removed a panel for replacement.
Note small boat: the vehicle of my venturing
When I moved from being neighbours with the clipper in the pic below to my current neighbour above, I also had to move a few ropes. You'll notice in the picture below that there's a bollard set into the wall. Well I needed to transfer my front rope from there to the bollard you can just see on the quay in the top right corner.


And then I had to place another one on the bollard set in the wall to the right of the Vereeniging (see further below). Last week, then, I climbed into my little dinghy and paddled over to lift off and replace said ropes. It was all good fun and I enjoyed messing around in the water despite the rain and cold. For once I felt inclined. Wrapped up in a warm coat and feet tucked into my tartan wellies, I was ready for an adventure of Wind in the Willows proportions and while it wasn't quite in the scale of Rat and Mole's escapades, it made me feel good scooting about between the barges.

My favourite tartan wellies

But this last Tuesday, when I was teaching, we had a phenomenal storm. The wind howled, the rain thundered down and I won't even go into how long it took me to get home after work.


Anyway, along with the deluge, the tide rose much higher than normal and my carefully laid wall-side rope floated off its bollard. Meanwhile, the wind played havoc with everything else and my other ropes got stretched to the point that when I emerged in the morning, the loopplank was teetering on the edge of the quay and I needed to do quite a rescue job. So back in my little boat I climbed to spuddle up to the bows, fish my errant rope out of the water and pull it back to the wall.

You can see the normal high tide mark on the bricks, but this time it was so high I couldn't even see the bollard, so it was well above its normal mark. This photo was taken when the tide was on its way down. When I performed my scoop up job, however, I could barely reach the bollard, which goes to show what an up and down world we live in during the October storms. I made sure I put a double loop in my rope and pulled it tight, so I'm hoping that, together with the heavy cable that's lying across it, this will prevent it from floating off again. If not, I'll have to put a weight on it to keep it down.

All this takes time, though, and while I enjoy it, I'm aware there are other jobs that need my attention...such as the new pin prick of light I can see through a place in the back cabin (the roef) where I should only be seeing solid steel...oh dear. I keep reminding myself she is 120 years old; these things will happen.

Anyway, next week I hope I'll have some further progress to report, or at least another new panel :)
Have a great weekend allemaal and here’s a fitting song to go with this post. I’ve loved this since I first heard it as a child.





21 comments:

  1. “Afraid?” murmured the Rat, his eyes shining with unutterable love. “Afraid! Of him? O, never, never! And yet—and yet—O, Mole, I am afraid!”
    https://aasof.com/2014/01/03/the-piper-at-the-gates-of-dawn/

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    1. Thank you, Peter! I have opened up your post and will read it as soon as I've finished my chores. And thank you for popping by too!

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  2. I love your boat blogs ....and the pics.

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    1. Thank you, dear Carol. A bit of light relief never hurts, my friend.

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  3. Oh Val this must keep you really fit. I can't imagine how cold it is doing stuff like that. Just as well you love it so much. I know that song very well,part of my childhood.

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    1. Well, Anne, I wouldn't want to spend all day out there doing it, but it is quite fun as long I'm dressed up warm! I'm glad you know that song too. My family used to sing along with it every time we heard it. I loved it :)

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  4. Lovely! We are off to Belgium on Wednesday and may have a brief spudded as we had back to our mooring. Praying for a wind free day! To paraphrase Strictly Come Dancing.... Keep spuddling ! Xx

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    1. Ooh lucky you, Jude! I think it will be dry, so that will be a bonus! Have fun and enjoy your spuddle too!

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  5. That song should be required listening for the RYA Day Skipper qualifications!

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  6. Hi Val - spuddling around does sound lots of fun ... while the work (small amount if possible) is good for us - but I hope the ropes hold against the winter ravages. What's the tide range normally ... I've just looked here in Cowichan Bay, Vancouver Island to see it's only 12 feet or so ... 10 feet in Victoria and 16 feet in Vancouver ... always interesting to me - Eastbourne is 20+ feet ... sorry got carried away with this! Cheers Hilary

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    1. Gosh, Eastbourne is quite a lot then. That's about six metres, isn't it? Ours is normally 2.5 metres, so that's about 8 feet (not much) but when we have extreme tides it can rise to about 4 metres, so that's about 13 feet. We are quite a distance from the coast and being a wide river with lots of tributaries in a flat country, it doesn't get very high inland.

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    2. Tide ranges are interesting aren't they ... cheers Hilary

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  7. Gosh, Val, it's a never ending labour of love! I loved your account, thanks so much for taking us on your watery adventures.

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    1. Aw, Beth, I'm so glad you enjoy my spuddling. My adventures are very minor compared with your medieval jousts!

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  8. If I was a boat owner I would have nightmares about the water level rising too high and my ropes getting tangled! Sounds as if you have been too busy to think about where the time went thought!

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    1. Oddly enough, I don't worry about it too much, Jenny, although it is always in the back of my mind. I'm used to these tidal waters and you get a feel for how to manage. I think I'd worry more on the Schelde where the rise and fall is so much greater.

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  9. Fascinating Val, a great insight into your world of boating. I think I would worry about the rope lifting during the night and the boat floating away from home! It must have been quite a storm. Love your tartan wellies, which would make anyone feel confident in a crisis. Great post.

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    1. Thank you, Patricia. These are all the little things that keep life interesting :)

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  10. Mooring ropes are often a problem with so much fluctuation in the tides, that it is hard to find the right solution. Perhaps it would be better if your harbour authorities were to install pontoons ?

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    1. Oh I wish they wood, Mel. It would make it much easier to leave for work or weekends away with peace of mind.

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