Date for next bird watch!
Date for your diary – 9 November 2025, for the next Long Rock BirdWatch! Under the expert guidance of Andy Taylor, come and get involved! Meeting at the Swalecliffe Skate Park, 8am. Birdwatches typically last for 1.5 hours.
Category: heritage
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Bird Watching …
A Feathered Success!
On the crisp morning of 12 October, a group of enthusiastic birdwatchers gathered at 08:00 by the Skate Park at Swalecliffe for a charity birdwatch walk. Over the course of 90 minutes, participants enjoyed spotting a variety of birds while strolling along the scenic coastal path.
The event brought together nature lovers of all ages and raised awareness for local conservation efforts. Thank you to everyone who joined and the next planned Birdwalk is 9 Nov 2025.
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Harbour & Boat Show back with a Splash!
A massive thank you to everyone who made this year’s show an unforgettable celebration of our maritime heritage, community spirit, and coastal creativity! From the Heritage Boat Building Centre and the iconic 1906 Gamecock restoration, to the off-shore barge races, model steam-train and live music by the quay. Every moment was a tribute to Whitstable’s vibrant connection to the sea!
With multiple maritime-themed stalls, gourmet food, lifeboat demons and even coracle building (!), the harbour came alive with stories, laughter, and waves of inspiration. Whether you were sea swimming, exploring the Coastal Trail, or dancing at the evening concert, you helped make this a truly magical day for all ages.
Here’s to the volunteers, performers, sailors, storytellers, supporters, and every visitor who joined us. You didn’t just attend—you became part of Whitstable’s living maritime legacy.
Until next year, keep the tide of enthusiasm rolling!
Thanks to Gordon Butler for the picture 🙂
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Size Matters
The typical Whitstable Oyster Yawl was between 40 and 45 foot in length. There were exceptions, for example the Rosa & ADA (F105) was 47 foot and Thyra was only 36 foot. For the yards along Island Way these were relatively small. Much larger craft were built on the slipways and then let down in to the sea at a time when there was no sea-wall.
If you are interested in learning more about the larger vessels, then the Merchant Ships of Whitstable by Wallace Harvey (Emprint Publications, 1993) is a good source.
Some larger sailing ships registered as Whitstable built
NAME BUILDER BUILT TYPE TONS BELMONT Whitstable Shipping Co. 1895 Schooner 139t EQUIVALENT James Daniels 1847 Schooner 187t FANNY GANN Thomas Gann Schooner 97t GRATITUDE Whitstable Shipping Co. 1875 Barquentine 298t HANNAH William Blackman 1841 Schooner 113t MARY ANN GANN Thomas Gann 1847 Schooner 177t NELLIE S. George Henry Gann 1876 Brigantine 282t SUNSHINE Whitstable Shipping Co. 1890 Ketch 119t TANKERTON TOWER Goldfinch Bros. 1884 Schooner 118t ZEBRINA Whitstable Shipping Co. 1973 Schooner 156t 
Mary Ann Gann -
Stormy Petrel
Stormy Petrel (F71) was built in Whitstable as an Oyster Smack/Yawl in 1890 by Richard and Charles on Island Wall. She was owned and fished by her builders, dredging oysters in the summer and used for stow-boating in the winter. This continued until 1928 when she became a watch-boat for the Seasalter and Ham Company, moored at Pollard Spit overlooking their interests in the oyster fishery east of the Isle of Sheppey.
Stormy Petrel 1972 After World War Two, Stormy Petrel was sold to a barge and smack skipper, and author, Bob Roberts of Harwich. He subsequently sold her to Bernard Rozier, his third hand. In 1962 she was bought by Dick Norris on the Medway and in 1998 he began a refit lasting 3 years. Then in 2018 she was sold to Luke Powell (who trained as a Shipwright in Faversham) and she is now based on the Fal Estuary in Cornwall.
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Money, Yawls & Oysters
Gamecock is one of the finest examples of her type, but why build a boat dedicated to a single purpose – the dredging of oysters? The answer is money.
Gamecock is a graceful boat with curved lines running from bow to stern but her design is very functional. The hull is lacking in space because she rarely worked overnight. Her single keel was protected by a metal gutter to avoid damage on the hard sea bed. Most of the work was undertaken on the deck so it was extended to the rear by a counter-stern. Her design was the result of her function and working environment.
Gamecock was not built until 1906/7 when there were still over 70 Whitstable Oyster Yawls in the fleet. In 1862/63 The Company of Free Fishers and Dredgers of Whitstable sent 60 million oysters to market at a value today of £91,000, equivalent to £11.5 million today. Not every year was as bountiful but Allan Collard, writing just before Gamecock was built, reckoned that the Whitstable Company annually sent 10 to 15 million oysters to market: (quoted by Derek Coombe in Fishermen from the Kentish Shore, published by Meresborough Books 1989).
With such a precious product lying on the sea bed there was more than one company interested in dredging the Swale, not to mention possible poachers. The main competitors were The Faversham Oyster Co, The Ham & Sea Salter Co, and The Whitstable Oyster Company. To mark their respective territories the oystermen agreed ‘transit lines’. David Roberts, Chair of Whitstable Improvement Trust, has recently researched these navigation aids which he explains as follows.
The old iron post, now leaning over, situated at the end of Island Wall, on the edge of the Village Green at Saxon Shore, has been in this position since its installation in 1865. It can be safely assumed that there was a marker beacon of some kind in this location long before this date.
This post functioned as the front marker (landmark) which could be lined up, by fishermen out at sea, with a back marker called the “Cross” (removed in the 1960’s) situated on higher ground just beyond the railway foot bridge at the end of West Cliff. This line, called a transit line, defined the boundary between the beds owned by the Company of Free Fishers and Dredgers of Whitstable and the Seasalter Oyster Fishery Company.
The Whitstable Improvement Trust assisted by Canterbury City Council, The Whitstable Oyster Company, The Whitstable Museum and Timescapes Kent considered it important to bring the existence of the last surviving oyster bed boundary marker to the attention of the public by recently making it more visible and installing two information boards to explain its significance.
It was one thing to mark out the territory, it was another to police it, especially at night. So the oyster companies employed ‘watchboats’ to guard their oyster beds. These were usually vessels too old for work and the crew were paid a bonus for being on duty overnight or at weekends.
