Medway
Deacon Daniel Mulcahy is AOS chaplain to the ports on the River Medway and around the Swale, the narrow strip of sea which separates the Isle of Sheppey from north Kent. Ports in this area include Chatham, Ridham Dock and Whitstable along with various smaller facilities such as Grovehurst Jetty and Queensborough. Daniel is assisted by a lively team of volunteer ship visitors.
Ship visiting in the smaller ports and jetties can be challenging as these are often very isolated. Queensborough, for example, can only be reached by a two mile drive over unmade road. Usually there are no facilities at all for seafarers. Sometimes docking conditions make it impossible for them to leave their ships or for visitors to board. However Daniel reports that ship visitors always receive a warm welcome.
Grovehurst Jetty |
Seafarer Arnardo on the Salix in Grovehurst Jetty |
Traffic is increasing as ships bring building materials for London's Olympic Village. Cargoes of gypsum, used to make plasterboard, come into Grovehurst Jetty. According to Daniel, it is the dirtiest port in the region. But he continues to visit and brings news to seafarers from their home countries such as Russia and Cape Verde. The seafarers are always delighted, even if they have to stand on deck and catch the newsletters which Daniel throws from the dockside.
Medway ship visitors
Volunteer ship visitors John Caruana, a retired engineering draughtsman, and Mike Giblin, a retired environmental officer, load up for a book exchange with British and Polish crew members of one of the ships which they visit regularly in Chatham. |
Volunteer ship visitor Simon Robinson, a landscape gardener, prepares to visit the British and Filipino crew members of the Swallow in Whitstable |
AOS port chaplain Deacon Daniel Mulcahy meets a seafarer from the Philippines during a ship visit in Ridham Dock |
Services at this port
Contact details for this port
- Port Chaplain
- Deacon Daniel Mulcahy
- Telephone
- 07963 199924
- Click here
