OCT Venta lying damaged off Hilly Pool Point Taken mid-afternoon on 1963 Match day before the crew had time to clear up. Photo Colin Swindale

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1 Venta lying damaged off Hilly Pool Point Taken mid-afternoon on 1963 Match day before the crew had time to clear up. Photo Colin Swindale OCT 2009 The Life Line by Winslow Homer 1884 Newsletter Editor: Mike Lewis, 27, Downs Road, Maldon, Essex CM9 5HG Tel:

2 Hi Mike, I have just been looking at the latest edition of the Pennant, thanks for including my article... I was surprised that you did not use the picture of Venta I sent you, lying damaged off Hilly Pool Point. It was taken mid afternoon match day before the crew had time to clear up!!! I ed the picture the same day as the article...did it get lost in the ether?... Re British Oak she was a bowsprit rigged coasting barge with centre pawl windlass and a whale backed wheelhouse. I have a picture of her lying in Rye Harbour in about 1910 looking very smart. A lot of Samuel West s work for their fleet in later years [after WW2] was from their ballast wharf at Colne Point [the wharf is still there] which could loosely be said to be at St. Osyth but is actually at Leeover-Sands. When she foundered she was only 45 years old so not necessarily a tore out reduced to sand work. The pictures from an old family Album are probably of the Paglesham built Ethel Ada which was owned by Samual West in the 1930 s and is still afloat and sailing... One of the crew is sitting on a normal single barrel windlass nor is there any sign of a bowsprit or it s fittings so definitely not the British Oak... Regards, Colin Swindale Photo got lost in the printing process but now has pride of place on this edition s cover. Humble apologies Colin There was never a suggestion that the family album photos were the British Oak it was all about the and in Ethel and Ada. EDITOR Hi Mike again I forgot to add on the last that, in the mid 1960 s, Southerly Frost who had the smack Varuna, trawled up the British Oak s mast case out near the Wallet Spitway buoy and badly damaged his nets. He was quite annoyed as he told me he knew where she was as he d seen her sunk there. The mast case lay on the saltings by rotten row at Tollesbury for over 20 years. I assume it has now been cleared up in recent years. Regards Colin Swindale Part of letter from Mrs Sue Tierney...Thank you also for the copy of the Pennant. I have to correct you on the misunderstanding that the trip on the Ethel and Ada [sic] was taken by my father and the photograph you have printed [bottom right] is also of him. His name was Robert Batcheller [as was his Grandfather]. The photograph was taken in the late 1920 s early 1930 s and my great grandfather the owner of British Oak had long been dead!... Sack cloth and ashes again. EDITOR A small detail from an old Photograph of British Oak Mrs Tierney very kindly permitted me to have scanned. I hesitate to say this but could the gentleman on the right be great grandfather Robert Batcheller? There are other clues in the next pages of this Pennant as to where and when this super picture was taken.

3 Smack Sally - Skipper- Richard Titchener Reminder and Wyvenhoe Jack Wilson on Cabby s bowsprit Decima Skipper Tim Goldsack Smack Lizzie Annie - Skipper- Bob Fawkes Reminder Skipper- Paul Jefferies

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5 Mrs Sue Tierney s previously un-published photo of BRITISH OAK Detail from above photo Waterfront opinion is that the name on the board on the shed may be Springett Any further information on the location and the men would be most welcome. Nice little sketch of barges by Arthur Briscoe taken from the October 1925 Issue of The Yachting Monthly

6 Winslow Homer an artist born in Boston in 1836 is well known, particularly in his own country, as one of the most significant American painters of the pre- Great War period. He was apprenticed to a lithographic workshop producing images from other artist s work and photographs for commercial illustrations. As soon as he completed his apprenticeship he started a career as a free-lance illustrator and included many publications among his clients, the most prestigious being Harper s Weekly. He enhanced his reputation with very competent work during the Civil War when he visited Unionist camps on many occasions, unfortunately he didn t seek out my great-grandfather for a subject he was in the 17 th Pennsylvania Regiment. With a growing reputation he paid a year long visit to Paris and exhibited two oil paintings at the Universal Exposition of It was natural that anyone born in a great, vibrant sea port should be attracted to the sea and,following his return from France, this was increasingly reflected in his work. Seeking further stimuli for his painting he travelled to England in 1881 and made his base at Cullercoats in Northumberland where, as my own recent experiences of sailing in those parts confirms, he was pretty sure to have some wild weather and dramatic scenes of this iron-bound coast. Homer died in 1911 by which time he was regarded as a ground breaking artist whose work influenced a whole generation of those that came after him. Crab Fishing Watercolour 1883 Watching the Tempest Watercolour 1881