TUG MEECHING
A calm morning in 1997
By Andy Gilbert
Meeching at No.5 Stage
Kind permission of Mark Westcott
In this excellent shot by Mark Westcott, Meeching is seen lying at her usual spot at No. 5 Stage. She's in her final Newhaven livery, that of Newhaven Port and Properties, but has yet to have the ugly extra fore and aft fenders added, required for working with the Seacat fast ferries.
Also in the photo is the old Lifeboat House, alas no more, and part of the Cresta, later Coral Marine buildings and the fuel tanks for the refuelling stage immediately up-river of Meeching.
The fishing boat seen just ahead of the tug is moored on the South Hard, outside where the Watch House used to be. At low tide, the boat would have been high and dry, allowing underwater work to be carried out.