Dandelion 3

 

Out in the river, forty knots of breeze sends moored boats bucking and pitching. The waters churned white, as tide fights wind. Atop the castle keep, the Union Jack strains upward, reaching for the scampering clouds.

Within the granite walls and tall lock gates, of the (former) naval dockyard, in which Nelson's Victory was built, Stargazer lies sheltered. Astern, on the Chatham Heritage Berth, the famous Lively Lady rests.

On July 16th 1967 Alec Rose, a retired greengrocer, set out to circumnavigate the globe aboard her. Singlehanded. He returned triumphant, to Portsmouth, on July 4th 1968. Launching a national celebration. A flotilla of wellwishers escorted him past The Forts. Whilst a crowd of 250,000 cheered his homecoming, from the quaysides. A week later, the Queen knighted him.

The diminutive, thirty six foot, cutter was built in Calcutta, in 1948. Stoutly, of old growth, forest teak baulks. Intended as railway sleepers for the Assam Bengal Railway. Now, Lively Lady has been lovingly restored, by the volunteers of the Around & Around charity.

To provide life skills and sail training, for disadvantaged young adults. And joy and inspiration, for her young-at-heart custodians.

Since Easter, three vigorous lows, have brought warm sunshine and strong headwinds. Now a change is in the air. A cooler, more moderate, northerly flow appears likely to set in. More conducive to progress down Channel. As are next week's tides. Soon, Stargazer's patient wait may be rewarded.

Credits

Picture 3: Sir Alec Rose, arrival in Portsmouth, 1968 - courtesy of Getty Images

Picture 4: Lively Lady, interior restored - courtesy of Paul Wyeth

Picture 5: Lively Lady, in her element - courtesy of Paul Wyeth