Ahoy, Marmites
PROGRESS
Andrew and Hilary Clark
Sun 24 May 2009 20:36
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51:24.2N 00:32E
From Ramsgate, we transitted the Princes Channel,
past the wind farm and the derelict WW2 towers, to enter the Medway, and make
our way up to Chatham Maritime Marina. Coming into the Medway again was a great
thrill for me, as my father first took me afloat on this river in 1955, and its
muddy waters have run through my veins ever since. Coming up river again, there
was that characteristic aura of saltmarsh and mud to excite the senses. Heady
stuff.
The marina, which is run by MDL, is located in the
western (No 1) basin of the dockyard. You lock in from Upnor Reach, which itself
is an interesting manouevre when the ebb tide is in full spate. Our berth is in
line with the easternmost dry-dock, which certainly had submarine occupation,
but I am not sure if it was the refitting dock. In the pictures attached, the
skeletal structure is the building frame of No 8 Machine Shop, which is
evidently now a protected structure. The brick building nearer the basin now
contains the 'Ship and Trades' pub, a pie shop, and a mini supermarket. The area
around the docks is being converted into domestic and retail accomodation.
We are very impressed by the marina, which as yet
has limited but good facilities. And the MDL team here are really friendly and
helpful. Our family discovered that they are only 45 minutes away, and have been
to visit today, and plan to come back later in the week. Tomorrow we are going
to the dockyard museum, and I shall be looking for familiar faces amongst the
sepia images of the historic dockyard.
And then we are going downriver to some very
special places.
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