Dunkirk, just south of Ostend, received a fleet of Little Ships at the end of May to celebrate the 70th anniversary of the Dunkirk Evacuation in 1940. The Little Ships met, as they they did in 1940, at Ramsgate and then made the 35 mile crossing south to Dunkirk. Traditional sailing vessels in the fleet were the barge Greta, French built North Sea fishing cutter Angele Aline and the Mevagissey motor lugger Maid Marian which had taken part in the Boulogne Evacuation.

In the heavy swell the Greta took 10 hours to reach Dunkirk and was delayed for a day on the return voyage by bad weather before going straight back to Whitstable for charter work. Because of her rebuild, the Thames Sailing Barge Trust’s barge Pudge didn’t go on the 70th anniversary voyage to Dunkirk, but went to Ipswich for a Dunkirk Commemorative Service. The Pudge is due to go back to Rick Cardy’s Yard at Maylandsea next spring to complete the rebuild, but he has to do repairs to the Gladys this winter first. The Leigh on Sea cockler Endeavour also went to the Dunkirk Reunion, the tenth since it was started in 1965.

More on this and other news in Sea Breezes Magazine - September 2010 Issue
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Nearly all traces of Rowhedge’s shipbuilding past have gone, but some of the craft built there survive such as the ketch Pioneer, built by Harris at the Lower Yard in 1864.

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Last summer the Wherry Yacht Charter Trust sent the 56ft pleasure wherry Hathor on a ‘Farewell’ cruise around the Norfolk Broads before she was taken out of the water for a four year rebuild at Wroxham.

Read more: A Farewell to the “Hathor”

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Stena Caledonia (12,169,’81) has been refurbished yet again and she looks as good as she ever did. This Harland and Wolff series of four for the then nationalised Sealink have proven excellent as basic reliable carriers and I don’t look forward to the time I have to write of the sale or demise of one of the last UK built passenger roros operating in UK waters, the others being Pride of York and CalMac’s larger vessels.

Read more: UK built Stena Caledonia returns after refit