Charles Stock, East Coast sailor

It is with regret that we learned of the death on 19 September 2012 of Charles Stock, a notable East Coast sailor who gave a talk at the Club some years ago.

Born on 3 August 1927, he sailed Shoal Waters, his 16 foot engineless gaff cutter for very many years, going in and out of the creeks and rivers which he recorded in his delightful book, Sailing Just for Fun. it is a wonderful and charming publication which has many laugh out loud moments. His wife often sailed with him an dit is amazing how two people, even as small as them, managed in such a tiny craft in all weathers and without an engine. Amongst many places he explored the upper reaches of the River Stour in Kent, sailing well beyond Sandwich and deep into the countryside. This was just one of his extraordinary exploits, mostly undertaken over single weekends, returning home to Maldon by the Sunday evening. It was average for him to sail 70 to 100 miles in a 60 hour weekend relying solely on the winds and tides.

Shoal Waters has been sold to a local Maldon man who plans to keep her unaltered and to continue sailing her in the same way as Charles Stock. In fact we saw her three weeks ago when we went to the Heybridge Basin Rally. She was under sail with her new skipper off Heybridge.

Charles died in September aged 85 years after a long illness. He is fondly remembered by all who knew him on the East Coast. For more on his life and writing, visit the Shoal Waters website: http://shoal-waters.moonfruit.com

The picture above of Shoal Waters is reproduced from the website.