Stories 1950s Dragons Logs Page 3

* home * about this site * archive * contact *

Designed & Maintained By Carol Gingell

Hosted by Horning.Org

© C.Gingell 2007 - all photographs, personal stories and written articles on this site are copyright and should not be reproduced anywhere else without the permission of the copyright owner and Broadland Memories.

1950 .... continued

26 August (Saturday) Barton

27 August (Sunday) To Stalham and return (Rolts went by motor launch to Wayford Bridge).

28th August (Monday) HEH left for London with The Rolts early am. Aunt Nita arrived later in day. (HEH went back to work and returned at weekends, remainder of family stayed on board)

2nd September (Saturday) HEH arrived.

10th September (Sunday) Laying up, HEH Left for London by car

11th September (Monday) Laying up.

12th September (Tuesday) AKH & JLEH Left by taxi and train from Wroxham.

Later that week all the spare gear blocks, skylights, tiller, upholstery loaded onto one of Percy Wilton’s coal lorries and sent to our house in Cheam for winter storage and maintenance.

1951

22nd March (Thursday) Motored from London to Barton. Arrived 11.00 pm stayed at the Townsend’s Cottage. (Claypits Cottage, Barton Turf)

23rd March (Good Friday) Rain. HEH, AKH, JLEH stripping paint in galley. There had been no need to pump Dragon all winter.

24th March (Saturday) Snow. Still stripping paint in Galley.

25th March (Easter Sunday) Ditto

26th March (Easter Monday) Painting galley and WC. Returned to Cheam by road.

All the soft furnishing and blocks and other loose gear transported from Cheam to Dragon on Mr Wilton’s coal lorry between Easter and Whitsun.

11th May (Friday) HEH, AKH, JLEH plus Major and Mrs Pitchford on board.

12th May (Saturday) Left Barton am bent sail. Cruised to Wroxham Broad. Towed Elnora. AKMH joined Horning left at Wroxham.

13th May (Sunday) Very rough day. Bent Elnora’s sails, left her at NBYC.

14th May (Whit Monday) Returned Barton.

25th May (Friday) HEH, AKH, JLEH, plus Una Taylor (one of my mother’s sisters)

26th May (Saturday) To Stalham pm.

27th May (Sunday) On Barton Broad.

8th June (Friday) HEH, AKH, JLEH

9th June (Saturday) Barton AKMH in splints. (she had just had an operation on her knees)

10th June (Sunday) Friends joined for day to Stalham and back.

(Three following weekends spent on Dragon but no information in Diary)

20th July (Friday) HEH, AKH, JLEH, Mr & Mrs Hanks.

21st July (Saturday) To Stalham, moored in Stalham river for night.

22nd July (Sunday) To Barton Broad, raced Freckles (Freckles was a half-decked centreboard boat with a huge mast for her Bermudan sail plan, HEH had bought her in about 1948 from the boatyard at Sutton Staithe. The transom and about 2 inches of most of the adjoining hull planks had been rotten because of the way she had been stored during the war, so the boatyard cut about 6 inches off her and replaced the transom. She sailed best in very light weather and had HY on the sail for recognition in races. My Fathers first name was Harry. She had probably been rigged with a gaff and a bowsprit at some time before we had her) Returned to Barton Staithe.

27th July (Friday) Commencement of HEH summer holiday. HEH, AKH, AKMH, JLEH plus Mr & Mrs Mitchell and their daughter Anne joined Dragon.

28th July (Saturday) Anchored Barton Broad.

29th July (Sunday) Sailed Dragon on the broad, Norman Mitchell fell overboard in the Ant (quanting I think) Raced Freckles HEH, NM, AKH. Anchored on Broad for night. Mitchells left late pm

30th July (Tuesday) HEH, AKH, AKMH, JLEH anchored on Barton Broad. Painted cabin top with non slip paint. Heavy weather, returned to Staithe pm.

31st July (Tuesday) Heavy thunderstorm am then to Ranworth

1st August (Wednesday) In Ranworth Dam scraped Dragon’s mast (unvarnished part)

2nd August (Thursday) Ranworth to Wroxham Broad for open Regatta.

3rd August (Friday) Wroxham Broad ( Norfolk Punt Club Regatta) AKMH HEH raced Elnora. To Wroxham Bridge for NPC Dance.

4th August (Saturday) AKMH Birthday Wroxham to Barton Staithe towing Elnora.

5th August (Sunday) Anchored on Barton Broad NPC Festival Race. Raced Freckles & Elnora.

6th August (Monday) BARTON REGATTA HEH, AKH, AKMH, JLEH, plus Townsends, Wiltons and others. No wherry race (no wherries except Dragon) Raced Freckles & Elnora. Good weather until 4.00pm when rain started and wind dropped.

7th August (Tuesday) Gale during night, slipped anchor cable and returned to Staithe early am.

8th August (Wednesday) Good weather after the storm, sailed Dragon on the Broad, then to Stalham and returned to Barton Staithe.

3rd August (Wednesday) Dept. Salhouse Broad 11.45am

Arr Ranworth Broad 2.15pm

24th August (Thursday) Left Ranworth 11.15am

Arr. Thurnmouth 12.35pm

Arr. Womack water 1.20pm Heavy

weather centre of a cyclone

Dept Womack water 3.00pm

Arr. South Walsham Broad 6.00pm

25th August (Friday) Dept. South Walsham 10.45am

Arr. Ludham Bridge 11.45am

Dept Ludham Bridge 12.15pm

Arr Barton Turf 1.55pm

3rd September (Sunday) To Barton Broad, AKMH and Maureen Townsend racing Elnora

Eleven on Dragon for tea (Eve of HEH & AKH Silver wedding) Dept Barton Broad for Stalham calling at The Staithe on way. Derek Townsend and Bill Griffiths on board.

Arr Stalham 7.00pm

Dept 8.40pm

Arr Barton Staithe 9.15pm

4th September (Monday) Silver Wedding HEH & AKH (I remember Father gave my Mother a Sterling Silver sugar bowl with a Chelsea Blue glass liner)

Dept. Staithe sailed the Broad and then to Stalham.

Arr Stalham 5.00pm

Dept Stalham 6.00pm

Arr Barton Staithe 7.00pm.

9th September (Saturday) Quanted into Cox’s dyke Barton.

Extracts from Dragon’s Log

1950 – 1958

Written by Brig H E Hopthrow, Owner

Transcribed by his son John

Page 1, 2, 3, 4

See more photographs from this collection