Log of "COCHYBONDHU"
Summer 1938.
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OWNER
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CAPTAIN:
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George Russell
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MATE:
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Josephine Russell
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FITTING OUT:
In August 1938 Cochybondhu was lying on the Orwell mud at Pin Mill in need of a
lick of varnish and antifouling. Her owner had very kindly lent her to us since
if Mr King were to build us a dinghy it would mean taking men off Selina, who was
half built.
One afternoon when Josephine was in London shopping with Mummy I engaged the Orwell
lorry and with two gardeners set off to Pin Mill. When we arrived she was still
not afloat and as Frank correctly forecast would not be for another two hours.
So we waited and to pass the time I helped Frank painting a rowing dinghy outside
King's shed. The owner who was inspecting the work on his new boat drove up and
wished us luck in getting her into the lorry, luck which I felt we would need as
Cocky at her best is heavy for her size and lying half the time in water and half
on the mud would have made her heavier still.
By the time Frank had finished telling me about mine sweeping in the war we had
painted the boat and Cocky was floating.
We backed the lorry down the hard and Frank very kindly came and helped. He
rowed me out to her and she was towed up the hard where after much beef we raised
her out of the water. Now to lift her into the lorry.
The six of us, because a nice yachtsman gave us a hand, raised the bows and lifted
them onto the lorry, then it was an easy matter to slide her into the lorry.
She hardly projected at all but we tied a red flag onto her rudder pin just to
look grander. We picked up her mast and sails from Mr. King's shed and started
on the 15-mile drive to Waldringfield.
The drive was accomplished without mishap as we had securely lashed her and she
was carefully lowered again at Waldringfield. She lay on the beach with her
anchor out; Mr. Nunn said he would put down a mooring for her off the beach,
however this mooring did not materialize for over a week and so she lay to her
anchor close to the jetty, and we returned home having accomplished our task
very successfully.
Our next job was to paint and varnish her as she was mostly bare wood under the
water line. We had her up on the top of the beach at the next high tide and I
spent the whole day on her, Josephine coming to help me after lunch. We
antifouled her bottom and sand papered and varnished her topsides, painting the
floorboards after four o'clock thereby getting the required matt finish.
And so she was ready for sea and we had great fun during the whole summer. We
made five or six trips up to Woodbridge, several to Ramsholt and one (v. windy
& wet.) down to Bawdsey.
In September we left her at the owners disposal but unfortunately she filled and
was only just rescued in time by Mrs. Nunn who put her on the quay upside down.
After Christmas I brought her to Broke, owing to the kind common sense of the
owner, and she became ours for as long as we wanted her, and we scraped her and
gave her two coats of black bitumast and four coats of varnish outside and two
in. Painted the seats and floorboards white. Varnished spars, mast, rudder,
tiller blocks. Dried mainsail and reset. Fitted new main halyard. Spliced
anchor rope.
Suggested new fittings
Permanent reeving points at the cringles.
Pulley at peak.
Net under stern.
ring extra in bows.
anchor warp abaft mast.
awning.
crutches.
This transcript is ©2008 by Jill Goulder. The original log
is ©2008 by The Estate of Josephine Russell.
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