MEECHING TUG

Nice pictures John. Thanks for sharing them with us.
As you may remember my late father was Mate on her for a few years (Jock Still) and my older brother was an AB on her (Jim Still)

John, thankyou so much for sharing these. Colour pix of Meeching from this era are very rare, as I have said.

The ones where she has no or very few tyre fenders are from her earliest days here. Not sure when they started putting them on, but probably as soon as she really started working.

I'd love to have these for the album I'm preparing for the Museum. If there's any chance of having hi-res copies please let me know. I'd be very grateful.

Capetan Manolis looks large for a N Quay ship of that era, though some of the visiting colliers were also quite a size. Maybe not this big though.

Thanks again
Andy

Thank you for your kind comments Andy.

The river Pilot of that day ( summer 1960 ) who took the Capetan Manolis through the bridge to the North Quay, had earlier told my mother that the ship was likely to be the biggest vessel ever to pass through the old swing bridge, as with a width of 39' 6" anything bigger would be almost impossible ! Hence her going down and taking these pictures to record the event, luckily for us to enjoy today.

Some history and statistics of Capetan Manolis :-
Details: 1,803 Gross Tonage ; 257 ( 265 o.a) ft X 39.5 ft.

The CAPETAN MANOLIS started life as a Wm. Cory & Son's collier, named the CORFIRTH, until she was sold for £15,000 to Magiora Cia. in 1958.
When she was renamed Capetan Manolis. From July 1943 she was used in the transport of petrol, in cans in the Mediterranean. In the February of 1944 she hit a mine when entering Ajaccio, and was beached.
Refloated in 1945 and repaired at Leghorn, she resumed service for Cory in April, 1946. (from WSS history of the Cory fleet). She was later named the PATRICK M in 1961 and worked for Mooringwell Shipping.
Then sold in 1966 to Komi Shipping S.A. (Kalamotusis), Liberia, and renamed VASSOS and was finally broken up in Savona, Italy, in the May of 1967.

The first picture above of the Meeching moored on the east quay was taken in the summer 1960 and was the first in the series I have, so it is most likely to have been taken on her first day in the port.

39'6" is amazing. The clearance through the old bridge was just 40', as far as I recall. Talk about shoe-horning it in.
It was my Dad and his colleagues on Newhaven Town Council that had to browbeat the 'powers that be' into making the present bridge with a 60' clearance rather than the proposed 45'. That allowed for the larger sand dredgers we have today to work comfortably.

I was on the Patrick M from February 1961 to October 1961. A great ship, many memories. Paid off at Kings Lynn.