Some Pirate Day Photographs 2017

Mods were here too, early doors

Bunting up at the Trader

Preparing the Stade Open Space

Looking across from Stacey Marie (facebook)

The Stacey Marie RX134

Drummers passing the Cinque Ports Arms

In the Cinque Ports

Still action at the Stade

Pirate Family escaping!

That's all folks!

A Gorgeous Public Holiday Monday!

I went out for a walk yesterday, but became inhibited by my chest infection, so cut it shorter to a wander along the seafront...

A lad preparing to fish from the Pier...

The new groynes look pretty pathetic, considering the size of the boulders used!

The drainage pipe is leaking considerably!

The wonderful RX134, Stacey Marie..

Very strange cloud formations, there's a dog there, plus a wee dolphin!

The Red Ensign at the Fishermen's Museum being raised, and..

It's raised!

A close up of the dog and dolphin, and, sadly, just afterwards, I found out that two porpoises had landed dead on the beach on the 1st...

Stacey Marie 'Makeover' almost complete...

OK, sadly, she'll never go to sea again, but she's looking pretty good on show!

Still a couple of things to do, but she's probably safe for at least another winter, though a wee bit more structural work wouldn't go amiss early next year!

The Stacey Marie, RX134, Rock-a-Nore Road, was built in the 1940s in Newhaven, originally fishing out of Eastbourne until the early 1960s (Registration then was NN39), when she was brought to Hastings and fished until near to the end of the 20th century. She is now owned by Hastings Fishermen's Museum; more information can be found at the Museum, or on her facebook page.

Stacey Marie update...

 Back to her colours when she was fishing in the 1990s!

Almost finished, for this year...

RX134 Stacey Marie Refurbishment

The Stacey Marie, the first exhibit of Hastings Fishermen's Museum as you walk down Rock-a-Nore Road, is having its annual refurbishment.

This grand old retired fishing boat has her own facebook page, if you didn't know!

Expect more paintwork, photographs, and a return to her fishing colours soon...

The Anchor Next Door...

No! Not the pub, but the anchor next door to the Stacey Marie (facebook) in Rock-a-Nore Road, which used to be situated on the pier until work started there in 2013. Previously, according to the plaque on the anchor, this anchor had been employed during the laying of a "sewage out-fall pipe off West St Leonards in 1985." So, no, if you're asked by students, this isn't the anchor they're looking for, that's up by the Fishermen's Museum...

Boat with a View and a New Winter Menu!

For a retired fishing boat it is excellent to see that the pub opposite, the Dolphin in Rock-a-Nore Road, has created a new 'Winter Menu' that focuses on supporting the local fishing industry situated just behind the Stacey Marie (RX134 - facebook page). Customers are encouraged to try locally caught huss and plaice for their fish & chips, not only the ubiquitous cod, though there is plenty of local cod around at the moment (not just frozen cod brought in from Iceland by a Rye trawler), and plenty of additional locally caught fish for their specials and 'Fish Platter', including gurnard, skate, dabs, mackerel and whiting.    

The kitchen is also locally sourcing as much other menu ingredients as possible, including using a local butcher, and local ales from the bar to include in their batter and stews, worth a visit, and I think I may just do that next time I'm working on the Stacey Marie!

Stacey Marie - RX134

This week, the Stacey Marie in Rock-a-Nore Road received her annual freshen up; whilst painting her, children were heard, more than once, asking parents "Why is that man painting the boat?" The answer should have been, to help preserve her from the elements and gulls, but that reply was not heard! The retired fishing boat has its own facebook page, should you wish to see more photographs, including from when she was a working boat, and to read a short description of her history, please go to that page.   

Looking at her with the East Hill in the background.

Looking back with the Dolphin Inn in the background...

Things to do?

Well, the Stade Saturdays events are over for this year, the Hastings Herring Fair isn't until next weekend, together with all the Halloween shenanigans, the weather forecast suggests this will be a dry day until this evening, though tomorrow will be bright and dry, if a wee bit chillier... So, what to do? The usual evening music venues continue, of course, Hastings certainly has plenty of music on every week, notably in pubs, and there are the museums to go to, eg up Bohemia Road or the Fishermen's Museum at Rock-a-Nore, if you haven't visited for a while, and, should you be happy to travel a few miles, there is the Battle Festival (website).   

Tuesday was a lovely day, and the gulls had fled the nest on board the Stacey Marie at Rock-a-Nore (facebook page), thus we managed to get on board and clean up and re-paint her deck, thankfully; we'll be doing a bit more restoration and painting over the coming weeks, she does need a wee bit of work, indeed, poor lass!   

Looking better already, though!

Enjoying a coffee, and the view in Rock-a-Nore

A lovely day, and to get even warmer tomorrow, apparently...

Reasonably early doors, sitting outside the Dolphin... 

You may have worked out by now that I am one of the two regulars who were involved in her restoration, and, now annually, who repaint the Stacey Marie, RX134, though you may not be aware that she is now 'retired' and lives under the aegis of the Fishermens' Museum, AND has her own facebook page, to which people are welcome to add photographs of her, and whose 'likes' of the page would be very welcome, cheers!  

Oh yes, and I thought I'd take a photograph of the RNLI lifeboat station on my way home, just to wallow in the blue sky! 

Tomorrow: Monthly Hastings Handicraft Fair

At the White Rock Theatre tomorrow (Friday 26th June, 11.00-15.00, admission free) is the monthly Hastings Handicraft Fair, supporting local arts and crafts, and any proceeds going to the registered charity, the Hastleon Amateur Dramatic and Operatic Society. For more details of the fair go to the website.     

This photograph is of a quilt by Ness Mann (website), decorously posed from Stacey Marie RX134 (facebook page) and referred to in my blog of 15th March.   

Enjoy the fair, and who knows what you may come away with? 

Hastings Fishermen's Museum... and Dunkirk!

With the memorial and Commemorative Service in Dunkirk today, in honour of the 75th anniversary of the "Little Ships" and the relief of the British Expeditionary Force, and French and Belgian troops (nearly 340,000 soldiers were evacuated to Britain to fight again), I thought this would be an excellent day to blog about the Fishermen's Museum.  

The first exhibit you reach at Rock-a-Nore

The Old Hastings Preservation Society created and opened the Museum in 1956 in the former Fishermen’s Church of St Nicholas, a mission chapel that served the fishing community from 1854 until the building was requisitioned by the military authorities during WW2. The building is Grade II listed, and rented from Hastings Borough Council. See more about the building and museum at their website.

The Enterprise

I have to admit I was surprised to find out that no fishing boats from Hastings actually sailed to Dunkirk in 1940 as part of Operation Dynamo, though most of Hastings' larger fishing boats were requisitioned and sailed to Dover in case they were required. One of those that did sail to Dover is the first exhibit you see when you walk into the museum, and you could hardly miss it! That is, the Enterprise RX278, and outside, amongst the boats, huts and anchors, and behind Tush & Pat's hut, is the Edward and Mary RX74, that also sailed to Dover in 1940.

Edward and Mary, and other exhibits

However, the Cyril and Lilian Bishop, the first Hastings' lifeboat built with an engine, did take part in the evacuation of troops from Dunkirk. She was built in Cowes and came into service at Hastings RNLI in 1931, until she was sold as a fishing vessel to Scotland in 1950. More history at the ADLS website; indeed, I found it very interesting to look around the site! She was since re-named “Lindy Lou” in 1976, and, near the end of the millennium acquired by Simon Evans, who collects and restores old lifeboats, and taken to his rented boatyard in Sens, France; having since moved to his personal boatyard at Migennes, where I believe she now resides.

Cyril and Lilian Bishop (in a bottle)

Very recently, Bob Arrowsmith donated a model of Cyril and Lilian Bishop in a bottle to the museum, which can be seen behind the Enterprise over in the far corner. Indeed, the main principle of my blogging about the Fishermen's Museum today is that, if you haven't before, you really should visit, there's much to see there, enjoy!