Rochester Sweeps Festival 2025

​Cruise to Chatham for the Rochester Sweeps Festival

​Of the three boats originally intending to join the cruise, two started out on Thursday 1st May from Penton Hook, namely Scotch Mist and Laird Tommy.  Unfortunately, Chris and Lin had encountered engine problems with Enterprise and had to withdraw (though they visited the festival by car, staying at the Ship and Trades pub).  Scotch Mist welcomed aboard Sally and Geoff as crew (as well as “permanent crew” Donny & Jasmine, the two Italian Greyhounds) The two boats had a gentle afternoon cruise down to Teddington, where we immediately booked a lock down for 6.15am the following morning.  Teddington Launch Lock has been out of service since last year. At the present time, passage is only possible through the barge lock, and this is creaking under the strain!  On the day of travel, the lock was only available 9am to 5pm, and for a 90-minute window before high tide.  As HW was at 0645, this enabled us to lock out at 0615, giving us the benefit of the ebb tide down through London.

​The day dawned bright and clear, and both boats negotiated the lock successfully, and began a most enjoyable cruise downriver, through the sights of London, in perfect conditions.  It was particularly pleasing that sally and Geoff were able to enjoy their first tidal trip in such ideal conditions.  Both boats arrived in Chatham in the early afternoon after a seven-hour run, and were allocated berths close together.
That evening, John and Geraldine went into Rochester to meet up with Chris & Lin and watch Sur Le Dock perform. Tony & Sharon and Geoff & Sally ate at the Ship and Trades.

​The following days were spent visiting Rochester for various festival events, including the concluding parade on the Mayday bank holiday Monday.  The weather gods smiled, as a forecast thunderstorm skirted the town with hardly a drop of rain.
Scotch Mist set off for home on Tuesday, again in ideal conditions, leaving Laird Tommy and crew to linger a few days more in Chatham.  Tony had planned the return journey to arrive at Richmond lock as free flow started around 9.30pm, with the intention of locking up at Teddington around 10pm in their 90-minute window before HW.  This meant the stretch from Richmond to Teddington was navigated in the dark -a task made much easier by having a good chart plotter to keep us in the middle of the river!   A precautionary telephone call to the Teddington lock keeper, however, gave us the news that, as of 5pm that day, the lock would no longer be available outside of the 9am to 5pm time!  Thank you, Environment Agency!!!  In the event, the lock keeper gave us permission to moor on the pontoon for the launch lock for the night .This was achieved with Sharon lying on the foredeck, directing a torch beam at the pontoon. Luckily, this is a floating pontoon, so there was no need to worry about tidal height changes.  We were thus able to enjoy a good night’s sleep and got the first lock up sharp at 9am the next morning for a gentle cruise back to Penton Hook.  John and Geraldine, aboard Laird Tommy, took a much more leisurely trip back, with stops in Kingston, and Weybridge along the way, returning to PH in time for the Tuesday club meeting.

​Thank s to everyone who participated for making this a really enjoyable event.  Special thanks go to Geoff and Sally for their expert help as crew.  This was especially welcome, as it was the first tidal trip for the Commodore after his accident last summer, and he is still adapting to life on one leg around the boat.