The plan was to voyage from Sheerness to Gravesend, some 20 miles up the Thames Estuary. There was a slack low tide at about 11.30 and then the tide flowed up the estuary until 17.30. If I left at the slack, I should be able be able to cover the distance in time. There was little or no wind and only ripples.
I started at Sheerness Sailing Club, which has an all tidal beach. Due to some travel complications and being distracted by chatting to people on the beach, I left late at 12.00. I was banking on the tidal stream to catch up this time.
About two miles out I was closing in on the SS Montgomery wreck exclusion zone and could see the masts of the wreck sticking out of the water, Southend in the distance behind.
In 1944 the S S Montgomery was packed full of explosives and sailed from the USA to just outside the Medway Estuary. It anchored, waiting to form up with a convoy that would travel to Cherbourg, which had just been taken by the Allies. Their anchors dragged and it went aground on a sandbank, breaking it's back.
The S S Montgomery wreck
What would happen if it went off
The salvage operation was deemed too tricky and expensive and it has been left ever since. There is a small risk it could explode, and it would then produce a five metre tidal wave, the blast wave estimated to do damage 10 to 20 miles away. Sheerness would have all the windows blown out.
Tempted to breach the exclusion zone, I nevertheless decided not to hang around. After a further two miles, I realised the fair tide had not materialised in strength and started to do some head calculations as I rowed on. I had left it too late to reach Gravesend before the tide turned on me. Also, the sunset was about 16.30 and I had forgotten my navigation lights and would have to improvise using a torch. Arriving in the dark with an adverse tide that strongly funnels past Gravesend against me did not seem a good idea.
I turned back whilst it was still possible and tucked into the Medway Estuary, using the incoming tide to finish at Queenborough. Initially I rowed hard against the tide to skirt round a large sandbank off the entrance.
I was well into the Medway when I heard from behind a ship chugging in my direction. I turned to see a tug rapidly approaching and for some reason I was having a bad feeling about it. I was well to the starboard side of the channel and stopped rowing.
To judge whether it was on collision course, I checked whether the image of the tug was moving against landmarks on the horizon behind, a sign that it would pass me. Initially it was, but as the tug started turning in my direction this relative movement slowed.
I was now having to consider collision avoidance. My usual tactic in this situation is to turn at right angles to the approaching boat and row hard so that it could pass to port, the angle of PicoMicroYacht signalling very clearly my intention. But if the tug kept turning, this might not work.I grabbed my radio and stammered into channel 16:
"This is PicoMicroYacht, PicoMicroYacht. To the tug exiting the Medway Estuary. To the tug exiting the Medway Estuary. I am just infront of you. I am just infront of you. Please let me know your intentions.? Please let me know your intentions?"
The tug immediately straightened out and swept past me about ten metres away. I looked up at the tug cabin and saw the driver sitting high and centrally. I never saw him looking at me and there was no reply to my radio message. I have no idea whether he saw me initially.
Later on I passed large yacht called 'Absolute Diamond.' The crew all turned, staring at me. One took a photograph and shouted out to check if I was alright. I am not sure if the two aspects were connected.
Round the corner was Queenborough, my destination the slipway just by the 'Old House at Home' pub. A very helpful and jolly man who was having a drink at the pub stepped outside to help pull PicoMicroYacht out of the water. As we chatted it was apparent that he had entered the water with his old leather boots and they had leaked a bit - I had thought they were Wellingtons. The kindness of strangers...
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