September/October 2024

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It was an early start on the first morning of September with steam raising for our trip across the Mersey to Birkenhead which had been our home for several years in the 1970’s. We bade farewell to our berth by the Pumphouse pub in Canning Dock on the Monday morning at high tide to clear the gate from Canning out into the river on what was a somewhat warm but damp and dismal day. The crew and Society Friends wasted little time in getting into the tea and biscuits, with the trip to the Galley being was met with the enticing aroma of a large pan of Scouse bubbling gently on the range, gratefully provided by Matthew’s partner Christine. When Kerne left Vittoria Wharf, East Float for Liverpool over 40 years ago, Birkenhead was a thriving port, with many vessels on show and plenty of movements to keep observers interested. Sadly, most of the infrastructure has gone to be replaced by modern office developments and high-rise dwellings - in fact, on arrival, we were the only operational vessel in East Float. Having shut the vessel down we left the docks for a welcome pint only to find that our choice of pub was severely restricted as most of the places we used to frequent have now been demolished. Fortunately we found a pub close to the railway station which made our motley crew very welcome. An improvement in the weather enabled the paint brushes to re-surface before preparations for our return to Sandon. Fires were lit on Saturday 21st September for our return trip to Liverpool the following Tuesday. However, coal reserves were getting low so bunkers were taken on the Monday, a day of appalling weather which at least kept the dust down but soaked the crew! Whilst Tuesday was dry and bright, the river was a bit sloppy, which meant that the decks got a good washing as Kerne made her way back across to Liverpool and through the system to Sandon. All in all, a pleasant trip to bring our 2024 sailings to a close. Not to rest on our laurels, it was straight into Winter Layup Mode which started with the removal of the boiler top door in order to feed in the suction hose of our compressed air driven diaphragm pump to pump out the boiler. The funnel cover was also replaced and lashed down. The next job is to remove the fire bars and to clean out the fire side of the two corrugated furnaces – lovely job!

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