alafloat

The Dunkirk Spirit

In this modern world of clichés the title is a very well worn one and used in many mundane circumstances
However in this instance we have the original and the reason we use the phrase today
Firstly the story of the Princess Mary who started her life as a ferry boat but like many others when the
question was asked she answered the call crossed the channel and under enemy shore fire, naval fire and dive bombers for three days she ferry our troops off the beaches and in the process saved hundreds of our troops,
After that she had many tasks through various owners. Princess Many arrived here on the Marina about two years ago with thoughts in mind of converting this time into a live aboard Now to shorten this tale and not to dwell on the WHY! I will put it down to old age, a hard life, and a small amount of neglect, the combination resulted in a pump failure which meant she took to sitting on the bottom for a week. Between the various parties it was decided that the only way forward was to pump out raise here and get the salvage crew lift her onto dry land and do the necessary repairs. However even with the best people on the job and everyone involved giving it there 100% best on the first lift she broke her back I stood with hands in prayer but that sound will live with me for ever it sounded like the old girl was saying leave me just let me go in peace and with that goes another one of my old Comrades A very sad day but surprising how many people rallied round and shared a great loss
That leads me on to the crux of this piece that is The Boxing Day Flood. I seems strange writing about a Flooded Marina but that is what we have. Obliviously the boaters on their boats are sitting pretty and are much more comfortable that the surrounding villagers something we should all be grateful for and allows us time to help the more troubled. Our problems compared with theirs are minor and come in the form of amenities we have lost the elson point, the pump out and diesel and all these facilities can be received very close by unlike the landlubbers we have the flexibility and the ability to move.
The picture is this: the quantity of rain that fell over a twenty four hour period was unprecedented, The marina is situated near and along side the river Douglas and a railway The river is fed by a few brooks, the nearest one to us is Ellen Brook which had a breach on Christmas day night as the river was already in full flood the water flowing from the now breached brook had nowhere to go but along a culvert and onto the Marina. By 09.00 on boxing day the marina was under a foot of water and by 16.00 it was under three foot and rising culminated in
The Coffee shop being flooded. The amenities block being put out of action, with all the consequences that go with it. But this is the point with the Princess Mary still sitting on the car park awaiting dismantling and shouting out the Dunkirk Spirit. With a valiant effort from all the helpers using all the fast array of local help in the area with some boaters working alongside local contractors we (not really we my roll was very minor as traffic control??) have now managed to get the flood level down to a manageable level and if we get away with dodging Storm Freddie due tonight (which is now causing my boat to roll a little ?? ) we should soon be getting some of the services back.
It will now take a few weeks to get the marina back to its pristine condition with all the facilities working, But as I said before this is the Dunkirk spirit were obstacles are over come, the impossible is made possible, and friendships moulded through adversity, My opinion is that Boaters come in to guises the first are renowned for their fortitude, the ability to get the job done, and the friendship they bring with them. And the others who tend to continually moan, think the world owes them a living and tend to disappear in an emergency. Luckily we have more of the former than the latter.
Luckily here on Fettlers wharf we have owners that care and instead of saying “Sorry there is Nothing we can do!” Here they rallied the troops worked around the clock and went that extra mile to maintain the stability of the Marina and it should also be noted that over on the ‘dark side’ for the last 48 hours the sun has shone on a job well done.