The final departure from St Katherines Docks was scheduled for 10:02 on Saturday the 19th. But after the lock gate jammed and was finally freed by a young man with a sledge hammer the NSC boats, Pax, Storm, Quintet, Emma Rose and Blue Moon finally motored out leaving Rioja in St Katherines for another week. The six boats and a multitude of crew had spent an interesting week of socialising, drinking (yes we had a few) and visiting various venues. But the week started with a drama when on Saturday on the approach to the dock, about a 1/2 mile short of the dock, Rioja had picked up a rope floating beneath the surface which resulted in a sudden loss of power so a quick thinking skipper ( I ain’t getting into who that is ) put out a call for help. They and their two additional crew; Peter and Tracy Hayward of Shearwater, were quickly assisted by a 20 ft riverboat rib, a Police boat and a Fire Rescue boat all responding to the call for help from Rioja as they quickly raised sails again to regain some momentum. They were subsequently towed into Limehouse where Mark donned a wet suit and took a dive into the murky depths to cut the rope from the prop, some men just love being a hero so he was rewarded with a box of Cadbury’s Milk Tray, honest he really was.
The rest of the week was less dramatic but lively. There was also a trip around The Tower of London, organised by Rioja. A group meal attended by all crews at a local curry house organised and attended by Mark and Barbara Salmon who live locally which was also attended by Chris and Jenny Higgs who drove from Burnham to be with us. A total of 16 members and crews.
The exit which as already mentioned was slow but interesting and thanks to Lynda and Mark (Rioja) we have several pictures to show you.
All in now for the long haul home
Whilst Quintet made for Queenborough, they obviously like a carvery, the rest made for Burnham arriving at about 20:30. The carvery is another tale for another day.
My personal thanks to all for a wonderful week.
