![](http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-mDx2m0SGnuI/TcgUtVdOfOI/AAAAAAAADkw/t-cY2bSC6b8/s320/old%2Bboys%2Band%2Bdel%2Bboy.jpg)
![](http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-HPuEGuhU9Mc/TcgUJweG8fI/AAAAAAAADkg/4u3Cb6JGDko/s320/old%2Bboys%2Blooking.jpg)
![](http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-ycV6eMP3p6I/TcgU5kP-6QI/AAAAAAAADk4/MImmCqoM05M/s320/old%2Bboys%2Btalking.jpg)
Here they are looking across the river Medway at redundant lightships anchored on the other side of the River Madway. When I aked how many there were, Pearce replied that there were " about 12!".
The topics in our conversation over the next 10 minutes ranged from how :
* Alexander had married a Scottish girl and they both loved open air music concerts in the fields for "the social crack".
* Van Morrison, at concerts was always miserable and never gave encores and how the Brothers had a cousin in Canada who followed Van around the world.
* when it came to fish, the mullet was not popular in England because it was a "bottom feeder" and tasted "earthy" and the onle people who liked it were the French.
* sea bass lived in protected breeding gounds and a virus was affecting the eels.
* the pub trade was in a sad state and had changed a lot since the Boys had themselves both been publicans.
* about 20 years ago, in winter, they had helped a 23 stone man dig his speed boat out of the mud at 2 o'clock in the morning and how they heard on the radio that the local lifeboat claimed the praise for his rescue.
![](http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-Ou1qC0WBbPM/TcgT3OWMY1I/AAAAAAAADkY/_OxCOyXmue8/s320/old%2Bboys%2Bfishing.jpg)
![](http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-Pm7Ej0RuCRg/TcgTdR5-wmI/AAAAAAAADkQ/P6blheSoPDU/s320/lightship%2B1.jpg)
The main prupose of our visit to the Pier had been to have a look at 'Light Vessel 21'. Her history was that she was in :
* 1962 ordered by Trinity House, London
* 1963 launched
* 1976 stationed at East Goodwin station English Channel, near Deal, Kent
* 1981 damaged in collision with an ore carrier.
![](http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-0VbT5SLTfMs/TdLGyU4m4RI/AAAAAAAADqg/k6b-853jmTM/s320/LV21-varne-accident-clipping.jpg)
http://www.feuerschiffseite.de/UNGLUCK/varnegb.htm
* 1988 converted to automatic lightvessel
* 2008 decommissioned by Trinity House
* 2009 acquired by Gary Weston and Päivi Seppälä and brought to the River Medway
![](http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-uGEMIVo2JWM/TdKhkG5IMkI/AAAAAAAADqY/hsLu7GpQu0g/s320/history-banner.jpg)
Gary's video :
http://www.garyweston.tv/light-vessel-21/
No comments:
Post a Comment