When it all goes quiet in the snug tonight and you need one of those ‘pup quiz’ style snippets to lob in to get the conversation going again, try this. Did you know that on Cambria’s final trading mission before being laid up in 1970 and, in fact, sold by Bob Roberts, to the Maritime Trust to begin her ‘career’ as museum vessel, (before we rudely woke her up again and made her go back to work!) her cargo was Groundnut Cake? Groundnut cake is part processed peanut kernels used as a good source of protein and fibre in cattle and animal feed. These days it is mainly produced in India where, for example, the Raja Fat and Feeds Pvt Company say of it “India accounts to be one of the largest groundnut producing nations. We at our company use high quality nutritious groundnut for the production of our groundnut extraction cake. We are the most famous groundnut cake manufacturer and its supplier, established in India. We impeccably manufacture extracted groundnut cake under strictly controlled conditions. Our groundnut extraction cake is high on protein and in other nutritious values. We cater our products timely to our customers with zeal to satisfy our customers up to the utmost level” There! Impeccability, Timeliness and Zeal! What more could the average cow require?

Sea Change are today on a mission to recreate, as far as possible, this last cargo trip from as close to the original Tilbury wharf as they could get, which turns out to be a cmenet dock, to as close as possible to the destination as possible, in Ipswich and carrying what ever cargo could be arrange, which turned out to be some roadstone aggregate and cement sample bags sourced locally.. This was loaded on board using a crane-lifted box and transferred to a pallet in the hold by the lads on the training trip. The picture is of the cement bags and is supplied by Sea Change.

Hilary Halajko’s latest “Cambria Watch” update runs, ” Our passage yesterday was a very pleasing 10 hours. Anchored at stone heaps and awoke to a bit of fog this morning. Underway for a short sail to the clamp house ( river Orwell). Late afternoon row and dingy sail to the beach for a couple of hours. tomorrow we lock in to Ipswich wet dock to unload our cargo and then hit the town……..for a meal out!” Your blogger has to admit to not knowing where “stone heaps” or the “clamp house” are so I will have to do some googling. Meanwhile, remember, stay impeccable, timely and zealous!