Meeching in charge of a strange tow

With a house full of photos, I usually write these articles at home, make the choice of pictures and then become stuck for such a simple thing as a date '“ need I say more?

Photo No 1 is from a series I took at Newhaven's present swing bridge in, I would guess, the 1980s.

The vessel featured is Newhaven's very own tug, the Meeching.

It was said that she was the only tug owned by British Rail, for Newhaven was, in fact, the only port they owned.

Certainly, they operated out of many harbours, but did not actually own them.

She replaced the worn out salvage tug Foremost 22, which had been based here since 1924, she in turn having replaced the Alert.

The more menial duties were usually performed by a smaller tug, to take out the mud barges from the port dredger, a practice which just does not happen any more.

The Meeching took over all duties in 1960 and was very much 'our tug'.

In the photo the background is the North Quay and the Meeching is about to pass through the open swing bridge.

What she is towing is impossible to determine, but it is the start of a 'contraption' connected to a long floating pipe, so long it must have reached Piddinghoe pond!

At the tail end was a small private tug and, not surprisingly, the pilot boat.

As the Meeching cleared through the swing bridge, it was closed to river traffic and as the road vehicles rolled over it, the pipe continued its passage until the checking tug was getting near, when the bridge opened again to let it through, still trailing the pipe!

Standing by near the marine shops was a large Dutch tug, just in case anything went out of control.

This explains why three members of the tug's crew are looking aft as is someone on the roof of the wheelhouse.

The curious procession continued its journey out of the harbour and when clear of the East Pier, headed for Seaford. Here all was to be positioned so that a very large and very special Dutch dredger could link up to the contraption. With much water and air, it blew its cargo of shingle, which it had filled itself with way out in the Channel, all ashore through the massive pipe to provide Seaford with its new wonder beach.

Without doubt, it all seemed to work and saved Seaford from another flooding.

Sadly, it seems this gift from the ocean has a habit of drifting towards Newhaven and at great cost many diggers, dozers and lorries spend weeks trying to get it back to where it came from.

I well remember the late Captain 'Ted' Weller of the harbour tug Richmere telling me how, in probably the 1920s, he had been given instructions to release a lump of timber off the sea end of the breakwater and follow it.

It drifted towards Seaford, turned shorewards and then towards Newhaven's East Beach!

When you think about it, all the shingle to the west of the breakwater wasn't there until it was built. That's a lot of shingle that doesn't reach Seaford.

PETER BAILEY

Peter Bailey is curator of the Newhaven Local and Maritime Museum based in its own fascinating premises in the grounds of Paradise Park in Avis Road, Newhaven. Opening hours are Saturdays and Sundays, all year, 2-5pm or by arrangement, weekdays, 2-4pm. Admission 1 (accompanied children free). Contact the curator on 01273 514760. Log on to the website at www.newhavenmuseum.co.uk