Up and down the Thames
Yesterday was spent alongside at Tilbury Landing Stage, or rather the more grandly named London International Cruise Terminal.  Which it was at one time but now the ravages of time are beginning to show on its old face.  It is actually a floating barge built in 1930 and some 1,130 feet long so quite a structure.  As it floats and is connected to the shore by 5 ramps it moves up and down about 21 feet every tide and so we do not need to adjust our mooring ropes as the tide comes in and out. 
The day was spent catching up with the jobs that can't be done when we have passengers on board, such as touching up the over side paintwork.  We also held our weekly emergency and abandon ship drill, a regulatory requirement on a merchant ship.
It would not be an understatement to say that Tilbury town is not the most glamorous of spots to be tied up, pity as we do spend quite a lot of our time here.  There is the one pub a short walk away the World's End, so called because it was usually the last building that convicts being transported to Australia would see before they set off for the other side of the world.  There is a regular ferry to take passengers over to the South side of the river at Gravesend, site of the once naval training school for merchant seamen that was established on a floating tall ship.
Today was a trip down river to Southend on Sea, which it is when the tide is in, and then onto Margate to drop off and then pick up passengers for a trip round the coast to look at North Foreland light then back here to Tilbury.  We have glamorous company as the tall ship Stavros Niachros is berthed just downriver from us.
A good day with pleasant weather, lets hope that this keeps up for the next few weeks, it does make life and profits so much easier.