Rochester Sweeps Festival, Mayday Bank Holiday weekend 2023
 
After weeks of the river being red boarded, the boating gods finally smiled on us in the last days of April and the cruise to Chatham for the Rochester Sweeps Festival was on!
Three boats made the trip. Enterprise, Ginista and Laird Tommy.  David and Linda arrived by car and stayed at the Travel Lodge  in Chatham.  Chris and Lin aboard Enterprise opted to depart on Wed 26th, a day ahead of Tony and Sharon on Ginista and John and Geraldine aboard Laird Tommy.  John was particularly keen to make the trip as he was booked onto a 5 day, RYA Day Skipper course aboard the training ship Maaike Maria in Chatham Marina.  The crews of Ginista and Laird Tommy met up at Teddington on Thursday 27th April and enjoyed a meal at the Tide End Cottage before an early start on the Friday to get the benefit of the ebb tide and free flow through Richmond Lock.  The weather was kind, with no rain forecast and light to moderate winds.  Progress was uneventful through London and after Margaret Ness we were able to open the throttles (until Ginista was abruptly reminded by Thames VTS on VHF that there was a speed restriction in force!)  Once clear of the restricted area we again pushed the speed up to a comfortable 16-18 knots.  John, on Laird Tommy, could not resist the temptation to really open his throttles, and shot past Ginista as if we were standing still.  Possibly mindful of how fast he burns through petrol when at full speed, he performed an elegant power turn and resumed station behind Ginista. 
​
 

​All except John (starting his RYA course) made our way into Rochester on Saturday to take in the festival acts (a mixed bag, some better than others).  It has become tradition to have pie and mash for lunch on the Saturday.  Chris had fallen off his diet wagon and had double pie, which was served inverted (to make it easier to add vinegar)  It looked awful, but obviously tasted good as it disappeared in short order.  Lin made up for Chris’ excess by going “dry pie”.  Stories were exchanged of our various experiences of pie and mash shops in our youth.  More acts and several beers followed during the afternoon before we made our own way back to the Marina and pre dinner drinks. Sadly, David and Linda then had to return home  The intention had been to eat that evening in the Ship and Trades, but they were fully booked so we made our own arrangements to eat aboard.  Tony & Sharon and John and Geraldine got fish and chips and ate them aboard Laird Tommy while watching (and photographing) a spectacular sunset.  A great day all round!

We assume Chris and Lin’s departure went OK next morning, but it was far too early for any of us to notice (or care!)  They sent us a picture as they passed the Thames barrier sometime before 11 am!  They were early enough to push on after Teddington to make it back to PH that day.

​Kevin, the engineer, duly arrived at Ginista on Tuesday morning, and as expected, the problem was air in the fuel line.  He had the engine running inside twenty minutes.  Lesson learned: Just because the fuel gauge says there is fuel in the tank, it doesn’t mean there actually is!  Now the only problem is getting replacement sender units as those fitted are obsolete.
Tuesday evening was spent with John and Geraldine aboard Ginista, where Sharon cooked spaghetti Bolognese and Geraldine provided the sweet.  Much red wine was consumed.  John was to take the course exam the next day and so benefitted from some Dutch Courage.
Wednesday was a quiet day as Geraldine had returned home by train for a day’s babysitting duties and John was busy with the Day Skipper exam.  We gathered on Ginista in the late afternoon to welcome John back.  Although parts of the test had still to be marked, he had been told he had a good pass!  Congratulations to him!  Ginista had fully refueled earlier in the day, and Tony & Sharon then assisted John and Geraldine to refuel ready for the trip home next day.  Neither of us got away with less than a £1,000 fuel bill!  Despite the shock of the fuel costs, we celebrated John’s exam success that evening with an excellent meal out at the newly opened Babasheesh restaurant on Quay 5.
We made an early start next morning, locking out at 6 am (though not as early as Chris and Lin on Tuesday) and got a good run up to the Isle of Grain where we encountered wind at force 4 and a 1 metre wave height.  Luckily this quickly abated (as we had predicted from the various forecasts) and after a bumpy half hour we then had wind over tide and a comfortable run back to London.  So good was the effect of a flood tide and a following wind that we reached Richmond more than an hour ahead of schedule and before the barrier was raised.  The decision was taken to use the lock, which saved us an hour wait, but cost us £11.00!!!  Like Chris two days before us, we decided to push on beyond Teddington and made it back to Penton Hook by 5pm.  The whole journey took Eleven hours including a 45minute stop at Teddington to stretch our legs and give the dog a walk.  Not bad going!
The weather had been very kind to us throughout and the Festival was generally good (and well worth a visit for anyone not having been before)
Thank you to all who attended for making it a memorable week and congratulations, once again, to John for his success on the Day Skipper course.

The 2023 Programme promised a Boat Handling Day and an Easter Weekend Cruise, unfortunately, the Commodore forgot to mention that to the British weather and the River Thames, both of which behaved with the unpredictability of which we are all familiar!
 
The Boat Handling Day had to take account of unexpectedly strong winds on the day and thus became a landlocked training day which included a knot tying refresher followed by a CPR demonstration and training in the use of the club’s Defibrillator.  A tasty lunch was also included courtesy of the Commodore and Hon Treasurer.  Thanks are given to Tony for the knot tying session, David for the CPR and Defib training, and Sharon for the tasty lunch.  
For anyone interested, the Boat Handling Day is still expected to go ahead this year, date to be confirmed.
 
The planned cruise over the Easter Weekend was thwarted by the River Thames being completely Red Boarded from top to toe!  But once again Tony, our Commodore, managed to create a very enjoyable Plan B, which was marina based and supported by most club members.
The Weekend commenced on Friday evening on board Ginista, as Tony and Sharon hosted a delicious supper and light-hearted card games.  On Saturday and Sunday, there was a full programme of games, activities, snacks and buffet lunches, produced by Sharon, all of which were set up on the grass near to the PHYC in full view of the marina.  Chris & Lin kindly lent their gazebo and set up the Albany stand.  
The games and fun activities included a blind hot cross bun tasting session, whereby we had to match on a score card, the shop which sold the bun, its cost and description.  There were four options and marks given for each element.  As the winner, Geraldine gained an incredible 12 out of 16 marks.  Egg decorating provided more entertainment and attracted a number of passers by who opted to join in with the fun.  Various resources were provided to aid the decoration including bits of fabric, pens and jewels.  Lin’s Bride & Groom won 1st place.  Geraldine’s Bride achieved 2nd place and Robbie’s Donald Trump egg was 3rd.  
After lunch, we divided into two teams of ladies versus the gents, to play raw egg croquet.  The key challenge of this game proved to be how not to break the egg before it reached the end of the course!  Ernie, the Labrador proved to be a great asset as he obligingly cleared up all the eggs that got broken on the grass.  The afternoon finished with light refreshments before everyone departed to get ready for an enjoyable evening meal at the clubhouse, which was attended by 14 club members.  
On Sunday, the activities continued under the gazebo on the grassy area next to the PHYC, with an unusual version of Pass the Parcel, a fascinating Easter Quiz and making Easter boxes filled with mini chocolate eggs.  The festivities were finally wound up after lunch and the site cleared away.  
To conclude, having thwarted our originally intended Easter Cruise, the weather had proved to be pleasantly warm and sunny and combined with Plan B, the resulting weekend was a great success.
Thanks are given to Tony, Sharon, Chris and Lin and everyone else who contributed to make this a very enjoyable weekend.
 
Sally, Zephyr
​