Pirates on the Hamble

Bursledon Regatta on the lovely River Hamble had a pirate theme this year, though Chris Waite, Brian Pearson and I didn't dress up - we just went to row in the Bursledon Gig races.
Bursledon Gigs were moulded from Falmouth workboats, and a dozen or two operate on the river. Until now, they have been used individually by Sea Scouts, various marinas and families, and have come together only for ad hoc races such as the regatta and the Hamble River Raid.
This may change with the formation of the Hamble River Rowing Club, which will arrange more events and also aims to keep a gig in the water at all times on a convenient pontoon, with the oars stored close by. Understandably, they are hoping the Jolly Sailor might be able to host the boat, which would then be available for members to use every day instead of by prior arrangement with the individual owners as at present.
Chris, Brian and I rowed in the Boatyard Sheave Race from the Mercury boatyard to the Jolly Sailor, and the big news is (a) no-one died, and (b) we did not come last. Further details are unnecessary, I feel.
We also tried to enter the Press Gang Race, six handed, but what with one thing and another failed to get out in time. Had we got to the start I am personally convinced we would have won by a country mile.

The men's single-handed race was hotly contested by two Iain Oughtred designed Acorn skiffs, pictured pulling big wakes.

For me, the eye-opener boat was the Peanut Dinghy, made by the Elephant Boatyard where the regatta itself is staged.
Just five foot long, the Peanut was designed by none other than Cockleshell hero and OSTAR founder 'Blondie' Haslar to encourage children to take up rowing. It is just 5ft long, extremely stable and has enough buoyancy to float when full of water. And kids love it - several were rowing round the river at speed, with great skill and obviously enjoying themselves enormously. The picture shows the race for children under 8, with two Peanuts heading an inflatable. I have to tell you, those infants were rowing to win. Congratulations to all of them.
The procession of dinghies, dories and assorted inflatables dressed up as pirate ships displayed all the inventiveness that enabled Britain to build an empire, and the sense of humour that kept us going while we lost it. The winner was the wonderful Black Pig, shown here repelling an attack by a Peanut. I was taken by a group that had updated the pirate theme by fitting an inflatable with a super soaker that looked just like a machine gun, and a pump feeding water to a hose. They took to the water as Somali pirates, and ruled the pond with their overwhelming firepower.

The regatta ended with a duel between Race Marshal Glyn Foulkes and his son. Click to play:

Martha Stewart buys an Adirondack Guide Boat

I never thought I would turn into a Martha Stewart fan - I'm not keen on all that floral print stuff in the house. But it turns out she is a boatie, and has just acquired an Adirondack guide boat from the Adirondack Guide Boat company in Vermont. She even featured it on her show - here is the segment:

I always wanted to know how the crossed handles that are compulsory on guide boats work, and the film clearly shows the way they hands are placed the same height but one in front of the other.

Crossed oars, on the other hand, are much more difficult to handle, as Ben of The Invisible Workshop has just discovered when he got to row a traditional Spanish dorna. Ben says it was difficult to get the blades far enough out of the water on the return, and would not recommend them for long distances. Very interesting.

Outbreak of rowing in Chichester Harbour

The Dinghy Cruising Association occupies Cobnor, a sailing centre and campsite in Chichester Harbour, for ten days every August and the Home Built Boat Rally tags along, though many HBBR members are DCA members anyway. This year the weather was nearly perfect, sunny with a nice breeze most of the time, but I had no boat. Snarleyow, my sliding seat skiff, is being refurbished, and Nessy, my flattie, has developed huge areas of delamination and may be approaching her final end.
The upshot was I spent the week sailing, except for the intervals of furious rowing trying to get Wayne Oliver's Ever Hopeful (a beautifully built Natzio Oystercatcher) out of Bosham channel against wind and tide.
On Saturday, having paddled for what seemed like hours to get the few hundred yards out of the channel, Wayne and I drifted lazily up channel to Dell Quay where the flotilla stopped at the hospitable sailing club for lunch.
Then Ever Hopeful continued up to Fishbourne, where we were overtaken by a Virus Yole (top pic) and a shell, rowed up from East Head apparently.
It is not very often I see any rowing on Chichester Harbour, so it was nice to meet them. And I discovered later that we just missed Langstone Cutters in the Solent galley Bembridge, on a long row practising for the Great River Race.
We then drifted back. Here is a view towards Birdham Pool, the sun twinkling off the wavelets. The sail is Liz Baker's Cormorant, Tess.

Norwegian wood boats

The BBC/Open University prog Coast went to Norway this week, and saw traditional clinker boats being built. The excitable Mark Horton drove a boat nail and peened the nail over the rove. The Norwegian boatbuilder told him with a straight face that the noise of the nail against the dolly was a 'clink' and this is why the boatbuilding style is called 'clinker'. Mark believed him.
All balls. According to Webster, the word is derived from clench.
But the boats were stunning. Lovely faerings that would have been instantly recognisable to the Vikings. The programme can be viewed on the web here (but only if you are in the UK).
The section was filmed at the Hardanger Ship Preservation Centre, which makes and sells a range of marine stuff from hand-forged iron fittings to rowing and sailing boats made under the direction of some of the last remaining traditionally-trained boatbuilders in the country. Their lovely Osterfjord boat is pictured above being coated with tar.

Eels in Ely

The Rivers programme also featured Peter Carter, the only traditional eel fisherman left in the entire Fenland, which reminded me that he got in the news earlier this year by reviving the medieval custom of presenting their tythes personally to the Bishop of Ely.
He punted to Ely and gave the Bishop half a dozen wriggly creatures. Bet he was really grateful.
Rivers followed Carter as he set traps made of withies, punting his boat in a traddy way. What the programme didn't mention was that the boat is a gun punt, and they had got him to do a demo of punt gunning as well. But that didn't make it onto the show.

Wittles

My old chum Gavin Atkin at intheboatshed has posted about last night's amusing televisual presentation Rivers, starring that thin comic that used to be in a comedy show last century with the fat guy. Gav was hugely amused by this bloke going shopping for stores in Roy's of Wroxham, the self-styled 'world's largest village store' (a slogan that the locals deprecate because it is actually in Hoveton, on the other bank of the river).
The bloke recalled that his father was a 'one-pan man' who stocked the galley on his yacht entirely with tins, mainly spam, beans with sausages and cling peaches. He even bought all-day breakfast in a tin.
Gav writes: "It...had a distinctly post-War feel about it, and seemed to me to be an amusing but fair account of how I remember men of Rhys Jones senior’s’ generation dealing with the problem of eating out of doors."
Post-War? Excuse Me. I have just returned from a few days camping at the DCA Cobnor Week in lovely Chichester Harbour (had a great time, since you ask) and my stores consisted of the following:

Spam

Heinz Beans with Sausages

Heinz Macaroni Cheese

Heinz Red Hot Balls

More Spam.

But don't get the impression that time has stood still since 1946. All these are ring-pull cans, so it is even easier to empty the contents into a canteen, heat and eat without the need for a tin opener, oven, multiple hobs, crockery or, unless you are extremely fussy, washing up.
I had forgotten how delicious tinned clings are, though. But here the telly got it wrong, so wrong. The bloke recommended evaporated milk, an etoliated confection suitable only for delicate infants or aged aunts. The correct way to serve clings is to take a tube of condensed milk, squeeze a generous glop on top of the peaches, and eat directly out of the can. Better than anything served in the so-called Fat Duck.
(Thanks to Scorpions and Centaurs for the pic)

Rowing, Cornish style

John Hesp has sent some fabulous shots of skiff racing in Calstock recently.

The skiffs are carvel built, rowed by one or two scullers or three oarsmen 'randan' style with an oar at each end and a sculler in the middle.

I hadn't realised how far back the scullers lean, allowing them to maximise the time the blade is in the water. It looks like hard work, but great fun.