[Rafal Zahorski]

Do you know her? Vessel was launched on 17.07.1938 in Smith's Dock, South Bank. She was built for Trinity House London. I am starting presently a new project in our Company named MV Bembridge. We are now buying her in UK and we will take her to Poland with a tug boat. Within 3-4 months she will be fully restored. Finally it will be our floating office - so nice old vessel as an office for a shipping company like we are. I am looking for everything what is realted to her - of course especially pictures and scans of any documents. I am looking for any seaman who was on her. Any help very welcome. I had already call for all info and docs from a Museum of a Smith's Dock and three previous owners. Every day I have somethign more - but still not so much. Many thanx in advance Rafal

PS. If you want to see our port you have on our www: www.magemar.com.pl 5 very professional web cams. 3 with zoom x 432 and 2 with zoom x 300 with full steering and moving.

[Rafal Zahorski]

Hi, I would like to definitivelly confirm - I have already bought her. In the following week she is going with a tug boat to Szczecin/Poland. Your help in this matter is very welcome!!!

[treeve]

http://www.teesbuiltships.co.uk/smit...bridge1938.htm
in case anyone wants to check what you have already ...
Best of luck with the work

[Hugh Ferguson]

As a pilot I spent many hours aboard T.H.P.V. (Trinity House Pilot Vessel)Bembridge stationed, periodically, off Dungeness from 1956/65. She was as comfortable as you could best expect a pilot vessel to be. With a full complement of inward pilots aboard numbering 14, plus up to 20 outward pilots arriving during a friday night she became very crowded. As an underdraftsman I have occasionally spent a full two days awaiting the arrival of a ship with a draft of 16ft or less.
Click HERE for some photos taken on board P.V. Bembridge

[Rafal Zahorski]

Dear Hugh, sorry I should say Mr. Ferguson!
When you were working on her I was even not in the planes. I am 1969. So definitivelly I should always run for a bear for you!

I am very happy for your kind answer. THANK YOU VERY, VERY, VERY MUCH!!!!

Please, I really bag you - please write me more info. I am interesting in everything, any interesting story, PLEASEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!

I am waiting for it with a pleasure. I will tell you interesting story - do you know man named Jeffrey Wood? He is a excellent surveyor in UK. He was making a beautiful and very professional survey report concerning a condition of MV Bembridge. Bit the most important story is that he was working (being 14) in her shipyard. He is today ca 85 years old but still a perfect conditions and very young soul. I am keeping a constant contact with him. Really great man if you know what I mean.

Please be so kind and sent me all these pictures to my e-mail: [email protected] + small description. I will place on our www service with a special thanks for you. Please be so kind and give me a full history of your life connected to her - I will place it on a special pages dedicated to THMV Bembridge. Unfortunately a Trinity House do not want to help me to much. Maybe you know any senior member of Trinity House who can help me. I am looking for all original log books, I need to restore her history - you are a nice part of it - so please be invited to be present on her board after her rebuilding. I am looking for everything related to this vessel and to her history. Every man who even looked one time in his life to her. All of detail, pictures, documents are for me VERY IMPORTANT, anything where you can see MV Bembridge name. Any scan very welcome.

Now a schedule looks as follow:

Tuesday: - 10.09 - MT Argus is leaving Szczecin port in direction Gillingham

Wednesday - 11.09 - My two collogues from a company + a guy from a Tug Boat company + me - so Rafal are coming at ca 11:00 am LT to Gillingham. Later on we will start a full preparation for a towing

Thursday - 12.09 - British Tug Boat is taking MV Bembridge from her today quay to a deep area of Thames river - where is permanent min. 6 m and is mooring her to a buoy and later on we will continue a preparation - so ballast tanks will be filled up with water

Friday - 13.02 - MT Argus is coming to Gillingham and it will take ca. 6 hours to prepare MV Bembridge and MT Argus to co-operate in a deep sea - so North Sea, Kiel Canal and Baltic Sea

Saturday 14.02 morning - MT Argus is taking MV Bembridge to Szczecin - so bye bye Gillingham, Leigh on Sea, London, Dover, bye bye Jeff, bye bye UK,

Monday 16.02 afternoon - MV Bembridge is arriving to Swinoujscie - at roads - so entering of Piastowski Canal leading her to Szczecin (5 hours of sailing). In Swinoujscie a journalists from 4 polish magazines are joining MV Bembridge - two maritime + two daily news. Still I am trying to convince one of our private TV stations to be present to - I will succeed of course, you know that.

Monday evening MV Bembridge will be in her Shipyard

Tuesday mooring - all moving equipment will be taken, water ballast will be empty and she will be lifted up on huge slip - than she will taken min 1 month to clean her hull and decks by sand and cut of all reparations made in her surface. A new steel will be welded and all rivets will be placed back - than she will look as in 1938.

During her first month a full hull and decks will be repaired, new chimney, third mast and boom will come back to her. A full project of her inside will be made in 3D PC simulation.

In June 2009 she will come with a tug boat to the most representative place in Szczecin - we will have a yearly holidays - so Days of Sea. Than she will look beautiful and proud. She will have No. 1 on her board + Pilot. Believe me - all of people like you will be proud of her once again.

Dear Hugh - any your help and any help of a guys like you VERY WELCOME!!!

Now please look here - she looks not so good today - but for a moment everything will be changed:

http://www.magemar.com.pl/cpg133/index. ... 129&page=1
http://www.magemar.com.pl/cpg133/index. ... 129&page=2

Keep well going Rafal - I am waiting for any news from you!!!!!

[Rafal Zahorski]

Originally Posted by treeve

http://www.teesbuiltships.co.uk/smit...bridge1938.htm
in case anyone wants to check what you have already ...
Best of luck with the work

Yes I know this www site. I have a constant contact with its admin George Robinson. He is now lookign for all materials what he can. Nice guy really for me!

Best regards Rafal

[Rafal Zahorski]

I would like to inform all of you that on our old www we oppened a special place dedicated to MV Bembridge:

http://www.magemar.com.pl/cpg133/index.php

As you see she is on a first place. On our new www we will have a special place dedicated to her history, forum, many other pictures, documents. We are looking for her log books to publish some interesting data. I will keep all of you posted about our develop.

[Hugh Ferguson]

I'll give this my best attention, Rafal,: just give me some time to stir up those old grey memory cells and I'll try to come up with something that will give you an impression of what life in a cruising pilot cutter was like in mid twentieth century. Rather than communicating with you directly I'll post it on this site as, hopefully, it maybe of interest to some other members of SN.

[Richie2012]

The bembridge was a swingers place at gillingham pier with dungeons!!!!!!!!!1

[Rafal Zahorski]

Dear Hugh, THANX!!!! I will wait for it with real pleasure. Of course I agree with you to place just here all stories. But I only asked to to sent me directly all pictures with a reasonable size + comments. Once again many thanks for your attaetion, good will and real help!

Dear Richie - I know what you mean - and I know what was over there. But this history is over now :-)))

Best regards to all of you Rafal

[sherkinisland]

I really believe that the "Bembridge" can have a new life while recovering its shape, proud and good maritime spirit as it had in the past..
The work and research rafal is doing are full of sense for those for whome history, respect and remembering of the past are important..and I am definitively one of them..

[Rafal Zahorski]

Dear Hugh - one additonal question - maybe you know somebody else or any other PILOT or crew member or anybody from Trinity House London to give any story? I still did not fing her log books! It will be graat!!! Keep well going Rafal

[Hugh Ferguson]

Originally Posted by Rafal Zahorski

Dear Hugh - one additonal question - maybe you know somebody else or any other PILOT or crew member or anybody from Trinity House London to give any story? I still did not fing her log books! It will be graat!!! Keep well going Rafal

One of my old pilot colleagues lives in Dover, and his wife is very active in keeping everyone in contact and informed about anything to do with the pilot service. She, I'm sure will be in contact with some of the people who manned the pilot vessels.
I will also ask her if she knows anything of the fate of the old log-books of which there must have been thousands. I did hear a horror story, that at the time of the closure of the Folkestone Pilot station, somebody had been ordered to clear the basement of the building, and in doing so, burned what had now come to be thought of as rubbish-namely the log-books. I will try to obtain some facts about what really did occur.
Rafal, I e.mailed (for starters) three photographs I took on board the Bembridge in 1966: did you receive? All the best, Hugh.

[Rafal Zahorski]

Dear Hugh,

Many thanks for your replay and your kind help. It is a pitty that something bad could happened to that log books. I hope NOT!!! SO I am waiting for any news and please sent my best regards to a wife of your friend. It is great what you are doing for me/us!!! I did not received - my e-mail - [email protected]. Did you saw MV Bembridge in our gallery? Best regards Rafal

[Rafal Zahorski]

Dear Hugh, thanx a lot, my friend!

[Rafal Zahorski]

I would like to inform all of you that tomorrow so on Saturday THMV Bembridge will start her voyage to Poland to Szczecin. A huge, very powerfull tug boat MT Argus is coming to take us. I will let you know about a develop in her towage.

[Rafal Zahorski]

Dear All, I hereby would like to confirm to you that THMP Bembridge is now in Poland in Szczecin in the shipyard Forkor. On Monday she will have a full inspection made by divers. On next Wednesday or Thursday she will go on the slip and than her restoration will be started. First her hull, all plates will be checked one by one. Later on all weak areas will be replaced, all reparations will be cut of and new steel will come. Later on all weldings will be polished and new rivets will be made. After this reparations, hull sending and serious repainting she will be officially launched in more or less the same way like in 1938. Anyway she looked beautifull during her towing. It was her first sea voyage since 1971. Any help in her restoration very welcome. I am looking for any picture, drawing, info and the like. Best regards Rafal PS. I am attaching one nice picture.

[Cutsplice]

Rafal, please keep us posted on the progress of the Bembridge and good wishes.

[Rafal Zahorski]

Of course, I will!

[g1noR890025]

Good luck with your project Rafal.
I was also wondering if the Pilot flag, white over red was just a coincidence being the same as the flag of Poland ?
Best regards. Gino

[David Williams]

Hi Rafel.
If you click on to S S STEAMSHIPS,the on to ships
names starting with "Bs",you will find nine photo's
of the Bembridge.Hope this info is of use to you.

Dave Williams(R583900)

[Rafal Zahorski]

Dear Gino, it is just just a coincidence. We are joking in Poland that every pilot vessel is a polish nationality :-).

Dear Dave, thanx, I really saw that site for a first time. That pictures too!!! Really many thanx!!!

Thanks to all of you for your kind will to help me!

BR Rafal

[Rafal Zahorski]

Dear All,

Today during a cleaning of a bosun store on THMP Bembridge we discovered a very interesting plastic bag. It was under many wet wooden boards, some wet matrials, broken glass and many others. We were cleaning that store just to clean a whole room. Suddenly I found that bag. Many rolls of paper - it looked as typical wall paper. Than I started to look inside. WOW I said! It is incredible!!!!! Real drowings of many parts from engine room and deck + full drowinggs of steering engine, tanks, pumps, parts of engiene. Everythjing painted handly on wax silk matrial - not paper. After so many years it looks brilliant. Everyware MV Bembridge and Smith's Dock and date 1937 or 1938. We have many of that drawing. Something between 50 amd 100. I delivered them imediatelly to a scan shop in Szczecin. I will collect them tomorrow + coloured scans in jpg files. I will show here some of them and full set on our www. I will send a full set on DVD to two suporting me museuns in UK so : Kirkleatham Museum & National Maritime Museum. They will be very lucky - all drawings are very interested. Anyway tomorrow you will see yourself. Keep well going Rafal

[Rafal Zahorski]

Hello to All of you. If anybody is interested in our progress you can see hundreds of pictures and scans on our www just here: http://www.magemar.com.pl/cpg133/index.php?cat=128

We are still looking for anything. Hugh any progress? On 24.02 we found one log book from 1975 and several machinery log books from 1965, 1966 and 1968. Everything was hidden in one nice place in one cabin under a bridge. On the top of all papers and different books we found attached carton page. Two days before so 22.02 we found a bag with original drawings of machinery components from 1938 - hand painting.

Every day we are receiving something new. For everything we would like to express our great thanks. Keep well going Rafal

[Rafal Zahorski]

So you have new pictures here: http://www.magemar.com.pl/cpg133/index.php?cat=128. Last made on 30.03. As you can see she has no windows, no old wooden deck, no mast and still this week wooden superstructure will be in the warehouse. As you can see we took out artificial wooden deck on her aft. We are asking everybody for a help. One of our friend is now discussing with Management of Trinity House to get their help. My personal trials failed. A... we know now why she is officially cancelled from a Lloyd's register on 1971. Essex Yacht Club in Leigh on Sea bought her officially from Trinity House London not as is stated in various sources on in 1971 but in 1976. There is a nice big secret what vessel as Bembridge was doing from 1971 till 1976. From one side she was cancelled from all registers but from other side we have her original log book from 1975 and some machinery logs from 1974. How it can be possible that Vessel without any papers was sailing that time? Today we know this history. It is not true that Trinity House sold her on 1971 directly to Essex Yacht Club. Who knows that story what was on her board from 1971 - 1975? We know ... and it is very interesting ...