The bow of S.B. Westmoreland raised

January - February 2020

An exciting development. The dry dock - kindly donated by the Westmoreland Trust - has been pumped out and towed into Lower Halstow Dock by the fine tug Sir Hendrik. This was done against Storm Brendon with great skill by Skipper Rob Hart of Hart Marine Services. Thanks also to Geoff and Ed Gransden of Sailing Barge Edith May who stood in 6 inch deep tidal surge over the wharf to take our lines, and super volunteer John Waterman for pitching in and taking the photographs reproduced here. The dock contains the remains of Westmoreland which we will have to remove on arrival in Sittingbourne. We are currently in talks with National Historic Ships on the best way to complete the recording of this fine sailing barge.

We had a visit from our surveyor Toby Lester and great news as he has said that the dry dock is in good condition and we are therefore starting the process of making it fit for a journey to Sittingbourne. We started a schedule of works document to get quotes from mobile welding companies and have had a few volunteer days at Lower Halstow - thanks to John, Paul and Tony and Rod, who used diesel pumps to hose in river water, brooms to stir up the mud and another pump to suck it all out. There were also the valve boxes to clear of mud and stones and debris, mainly undertaken by the ever courageous Bosun Rob. Everything in the dry dock is quite muddy and slippery so this is strenuous, cold, wet, and dirty work with hazards. Waterproofs, welly's and waders were order of the day. Facilities are limited but the excellent Ed Gransden provided hot drinks from the Edith May. And then at the end of each day, all the kit must be washed off, put in Robs Car and driven back to Raybel. Thank goodness the weather has been kind - warm and not too much rain.