Category: Classic motor vessels

Queenborough Classic Boat Festival, 10/12 Sept 2022 (UPDATED)

UPDATE: out of respect to the late Queen, the festivities have been cancelled but many of the classic boats have already arrived and the harbour will be open to visitors.

Following the return of our annual Classic Boat Festival last September, we’re busy planning our annual Classic Boat Festival again, welcoming visitors to discover historical vessels on the pontoon over the weekend of 10-11 September 2022. We’ll be joined by several historical vessels, with visitors getting the opportunity to climb aboard and learn more about their history and how they work.

Throughout the weekend, our friends at Jetstream Tours will be offering trips out to the wreck of SS Richard Montgomery. These will depart from the All Tide Landing,  offering the chance to share with locals and visitors the fabulous views and scenery of the harbour. 

Our weekly harbour market will be making a special appearance on the town quay during the weekend, with a variety of food, drink and locally-made products and services on offer. 

More information…

Medway Queen homecoming

Photo Mark Colyer

On Thursday the veteran paddle steamer Medway Queen, was towed from Ramsgate to the Medway by the tug Christine. At night she was temporarily moored at the Bullnose Lock at Chatham Docks (see photo) and was moved to her home berth at Gillingham Pier on Friday afternoon.

The MQ is now safely on her berth. There’s a video (by Mark Colyer) of her docking on the MSBA Facebook page.

Here are more photos by Brian Corbett:

Faversham Swing Bridge – Latest News

The MSBA supports Faversham Creek Trust in their campaign to restore the swing bridge, which would allow craft such as sailing barges to use the basin at the head of the creek. On Friday 10 December Helen Whately MP met with representatives from Kent County Council, Faversham Town Council, the Faversham Society and the Faversham Creek Trust to discuss progress since their last meeting in June. The Town Council kicked off the meeting with an update on their legal advice. It said the Secretary of State has the power to issue an Abatement Notice under section 43 of the Medway Ports Act 1973 to compel the party with obligations to maintain this bridge, sluice gates and associated works so as to permit navigation again. The Town Council has written to the Secretary of State for Transport asking him to issue this notice. The meeting agreed that supporting the Town Council to achieve this objective was the best way forward. Money currently pledged by Kent County Council, Swale Borough Council, and Faversham Town Council and raised from the community by the Faversham Creek Trust, is not enough to cover the cost of restoring the bridge. We need Peel Ports to play their part to get the bridge back into working order, this would go a long way towards plugging the funding gap for making the creek basin usable again. KCC confirmed that the Faversham community funding is safely held in a separate account except where individual donors have requested and received their donations back. Kent County Council is helping the Town Council to provide the Department of Transport with further information about the bridge and creek. Helen Whately will press the Secretary of State to take this course of action. While this is a positive step forward there is still a long way to go. KCC confirmed that design work on the bridge and sluices is completed and tender documents are ready. Both Helen and KCC have agreed to update residents about progress so far including future designs for the bridge.

Medway Queen looking magnificent

Medway Queen looks magnificent on the Ramsgate slipway (photo: David Stearne).

News from MQPS: Unfortunately she is set to continue to look magnificent there for a little while yet. The plan was for her to come off the slip yesterday afternoon and for the tugs to bring her back to Gillingham at the earliest opportunity. The operation had  hardly started and MQ was about a quarter of the way down when the winch jammed. Now we have to wait for that to be fixed. We have been assured that she is high enough to be in no danger, but it is still a cause of considerable frustration! It is just “one of those things” and we have to make the best of it.

Queenborough Classic Boat Show, 11-12 Sept

Step aboard a variety of historic tugs, sailing barges and sailing yachts. Free entry.

Queenborough Harbour is conveniently situated in North Kent where the Swale, Medway & Thames meet and an ideal base for cruising. Queenborough Harbour Trust is a not-for-profit organisation representing the interests of the local community and maritime users both resident and from further afield. Trust members are drawn from local boating and civic interest groups such as the Queenborough Yacht Club, Queenborough Rowing Club and the Queenborough Society. Queenborough Harbour is the primary boating refuge on the Swale providing valuable mooring facilities for local yachtsmen, fishermen and visitors alike drawn by the exceptional natural beauty and wildlife of the area, its fascinating maritime history, the convenience of the all tide landing and its strategic positioning as a safe haven between London and Ramsgate.

Morris Tolhurst

Today was the funeral of MSBA Treasurer Morris Tolhurst, who died on 18 July, aged 69. He owned Beacon Boatyard at Borstal, near Rochester, and was father of our Patron, Kelly Tolhurst MP. He leaves his wife Chris, two daughters and two granddaughters.

Morris, a quiet but gifted man, will be missed greatly by his family and his many friends in the Association of Dunkirk Little Ships and the Medway boating community.