TUG MEECHING

The Floating Dock under tow between Dartmouth and Newhaven

Jim Still

The Dock high and dry on the beach at Ostend

Jim Still

One can see the size of the dock in relation to the size of the people there

Photo Luc. Ostend

Capt. "Paddy" Pringle and Mate Jock Still Testing the sand

Photo Luc. Ostend

Anchors arriving at the scene

Photo Luc. Ostend

After the first manouver

Photo Luc. Ostend

Digging the Anchors in.

Photo Luc. Ostend

The MEECHING Crew on the floating dock to prepare for towing off the beach. From left to right is Serge (Meechings Ostend Agent) Jock Still (Meechings Mate) Captain Paddy Pringle, on the steps Jim Still, Steve Payne, "Sally" Flowers, Gerry Osborne (Meeching Engineer) Other crew members are back in Ostend in harbour on the Meeching.

Photo Luc. Ostende

Meeching on the Groyne with Capt. Paddy Pringle inspecting for damage

Jim Still

Stern View of Meeching

Jim Still

The Floating Dock Tow

By Jim Still

These pictures show the floating dock and Meeching on the Beach at Ostend. This took place in the early sixties.  The dock was collected from Dartmouth and was to be towed to Flushing, and had a good trip up to Newhaven where it was hove to off the breakwater.  Later the same day the voyage continued up channel.

Later that night we ran into a force 9 to 10 gale in the Dover Straits. The timings of events that night are hard to bring to mind, but it was late and possibly after midnight when the tow parted.  In that sort of weather a large floating dock loose in the Channel is one big hazard. We searched around for quite some time using the searchlight. The lights on the dock may have gone out, and a black floating Dock on a black night is hard to locate. We searched for hours. At some time I believe that word came through that the dock had been sighted close inshore north east of Ostend where the dock beached herself. It was then decided that Meeching entered Ostend. The weather was so atrocious that night that the pilot would not venture ouside to board Meeching so we had to meet him inside the breakwaters.    

in the morning, in daylight,  transport was arranged to go along to where the floating dock was beached. It was a forlorn sight that greeted us as can be seen from the pictures, she had been driven well up the beach and it was going to take a high tide to get her off.

It was arranged that a fishing boat would meet Meeching off the beach to run a hawser into the dock. The weather worsened during this attempt and for the safety of the fishing boat crew it was called off.

Next it was decided to get anchors positioned and buried in the sand and anchors were provided by the Belgium Navy and placed in strategic places on the beach. Using the hand winches on the dock attempts were made to winch the dock into a better position down the beach. A wire was then run out at low water to a fishing boat which then took it out to sea a little and stay there at anchor.   Meeching then met up with the boat at high tide that night and the wire was passed to the Meeching.   Meeching then started hauling the wire aboard.

Ostend beaches at that time had a lot of stone built groynes and it was on top of one of these that Meeching found herself and bottomed. The operation was then halted as on a falling tide meeching was frimly held on the groyne until the next high tide. Being the first one ashore via a ladder I was able to get the photos of Meechings plight.

During the day the crew of Meeching dragged the Meeching's anchors out into water so that they could be used to drag Meeching off on the next tide. This proved successful and with one propeller damaged the Meeching was able to get herself back into Ostend for repairs. It was during these repairs that another tug was employed to get the floating dock to its destination.

This is the way I remember what happened as a crew member at the time. Obviously times of day etc are now a little fuzzy the overall story is pretty close to the facts.

With regard to the Meeching's Crew, I believe I may be the only surviving original crew member with the possible exception of Engineer Gerry Osborne. Does anyone now if Gerry is still around and if so where is he located?