TID 172 is back in steam and has completed her first long passage in 2
years.
The tug has been laying in a mud berth at Mistley on the River Stour (east coast of England) for more than 18 months. During this time all efforts of the small preservation group have been concentrated on re-tubing the boiler and other works in preparation for the 10 year boiler survey.
The final stage of the boiler survey was completed mid April 1998 when operation of the safety valves was witnessed by the surveyor.
All efforts of the group were then turned to preparing the ship for sea and the biennial trip to the steam festival in Dordrecht, Holland.
On the 27 May 1998 TID 172 was steamed out of the mud berth on the top of the spring tide and taken a short distance up river to lay alongside the public quay at Mistley.
With just a week left before departure to Dordrecht the transformation to operational ship continued. Large quantities of tools and materials not now required on board were taken ashore and the ship painted from stem to stern.
During this period she was kept in steam. A few defects came to light and were quickly dealt with.
Moored alongside a public quay, TID172 attracted a great deal of public interest. Showing impromptu visitors around the engine room made a welcome break from final preparatory works. Even the local paper showed interest with a picture and short article in the Eastern Daily Press.
The good weather which had allowed these preparatory works to continue apace changed on the planned departure date. With gales forecast departure to Dordrecht was delayed for a day.
At 6 am on 3 June 1998 TID 172 departed Mistley Town Quay bound for Dordrecht on the Oude Maas in the Netherlands. The route to be taken would follow in part that of the Harwich passenger steamers in the early part of this century.
It was good to be steaming down the River Stour again and following the suggested small boat track out of Harwich Harbour, past Cork Sands, Roughs Tower and the South Shipwash Cardinal Buoy heading for the Southern North Sea.
The gales of the previous day and the wind still blowing force 6 from the south west produced a short steep sea in the shallow waters between the sand banks. TID 172 was taking this sea almost on the beam causing her to roll in a way that has to be experienced to be believed.
Waves were breaking across the low aft deck and the lower half of the black funnel was turning white from the salt spray. From Shipwash to Inner Gabbard and on to North Galloper the motion was at its worst. Deeper water beyond the shoal sands giving a greater distance between waves resulted in a less violent roll as the traffic separation zones were crossed.
Finally the wind began to ease to force 4 at dusk and it was even possible to venture onto the aft deck without getting wet. Hot drinks and food could again be prepared and some of the crew even managed to enjoy their food again!
Approaching the Dutch coast in darkness TID 172 must have aroused the suspicions of the Dutch coastguard as a helicopter came to investigate. Suddenly the tug was illuminated by a powerful searchlight as the aircraft hovered directly overhead. After a few seconds the helicopter flew off apparently satisfied that our intentions were friendly as no attempt was made to contact the tug by radio. It took several minutes for the crew on watch to recover their night vision and resume the job of spotting navigation marks to confirm that the tug was where the Decca said it was!
The safe water buoy at the entrance of the Slijkgat Channel was reached at 2:00 am. This narrow channel requires careful pilotage, especially in the dark, when presented with an array of navigation lights. The channel follows an ‘S’ shape and a number of the lights have the same flashing sequence. Gradually the increasing light of dawn made identification of the next channel markers easier. TID 172 entered the locks at Stellendam at 4:00 am, 22 hours after leaving the Quay at Mistley, now 115 miles away.
Locking out into the quiet waters of the Haringvliet, a more civilised way of life returned on board! TID 172 was now following the route passenger steamers out of Harwich bound for Rotterdam were using in the 1890’s, along the Haringvliet into the Hollandsche Diep and along the Dordsche Kil to Dordrecht. After a few tense moments discussing air draft, determining what the lights on the bridge mean and keeping a good lookout for other river traffic TID 172 passed under the Dordrecht railway/road bridge, and was brought alongside near the Willemshaven almost 30 hours after leaving Mistley.
The festival starts with a parade of boats on the Friday evening and
continues throughout the weekend. With about 20 steam boats out on the river,
from tugs to a German icebreaker the "Wal" and the Norwegian whale catcher
"Southern Actor", the weekends festivities started in there usual impressive
style. The whole of the weekend is devoted to steam both on land and water.
There is good music provided by various bands on the quayside from brass
to rock, and of course the beer is very good!
The weekend passes all too quickly with many visitors to show around TID 172 and to visit the other boats
TID172 tied up in the inner harbour at Stellendam at 2325hrs, with an adverse weather forecast all that could be done was wait. The next day strong winds and gales were forecast for the next several days and the decision was taken to leave the Tug at Stellendam until there was improvement. After moving her to the outer harbour the crew returned to Harwich by the HSS Stena Discovery.
Finally just over a week later the weather improved and the forecast for several days was good. Two of the crew returned the 18th June to light-up and the remaining four joined the ship on the Friday. TID 172 left Stellendam outer harbour at 1805hrs 19 June with calm weather forecast but also reports of fog off the coast.
Whilst still only a few miles of the Dutch coast, a coastguard vessel approached and then slowly passed astern. It was then noticed that an inflatable with three men on board was approaching, coming alongside two of the crew boarded the tug --- customs! After checking passports and the ships papers the coastguard/customs men were given a tour of the engine and boiler rooms before returning to their vessel.
The passage back to Harwich was enjoyable, steaming across a calm sea, and although visibility was only moderate at times there was no fog. Being almost midsummer the night was short, with the light sky of sunset twilight moving through north and becoming the sunrise twilight.
Steaming into Harwich TID 172 continued up the river Orwell and tied up at Cliff Quay at 1650hrs 20 June to wait for the opening of the lock gates and pass into Ipswich Wet Dock to attend Maritime Ipswich on the Sunday.
TID 172 remained at the Ipswich Wet Dock for the following week. This allowed fuel to be brought on board and water tanks to be filled before finally steaming down river to her mooring in Harwich Harbour on Sunday evening 28 June.