7daysinaweek Posted April 18, 2022 Report Share Posted April 18, 2022 Me and mrs 7days are partial to a bit of open water swimming, having not swam in the sea since last summer which was the Burgh Island swim in Devon, we decided to have a swim at Formby which we do on occasions. April is what we refer to as our acclimitization month as the water be it the sea here, or our local quarries that we swim in are around a 'barmy' 7-8 degrees at this time of year. On Saturday we parked up at the car park at 10.30am and made our way to the boardwalk where we usually get changed next to the lifeguard station. Lots of people enjoying themselves as they should, dogs, buckets, spades and all that. Wetsuits on and we left our bags under the boardwalk as is the usual and into the water. Bloody freezing! We swam out around a 100 metres or so and headed left to what is known as the 'marker post', about half a mile away, swim around that then back which is around the mile mark all told, not too far. On our return we got out onto the beach directly opposite the boardwalk, walked through the groups of people, got dried off and then left. Just as we arrived back at the car park, costguard and police turned up, lights flashing en masse! We wondered what could of happened. A google search threw this up. (link below) Mass evacuation of the beach and bomb disposal safely detonated the offending object. The article does not say what it was, some old ordinance possibly, or something more suspect??, who knows! We walked past that child in the picture who had made the sandcastles and I pointed them out as being 'impreressive!' Thankfully no one was injured in any way however unlikely. Any roads, we were not 'blown to smithereens'. Next time we stop for a rest at sea we better check what we are 'clinging onto'. https://www.itv.com/news/granada/2022-04-16/suspicious-object-forces-beach-evacuation Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mel b3 Posted April 18, 2022 Report Share Posted April 18, 2022 I'm putting my money on a Russian mine . 7 or 8 degrees , is colder than a witches xxx🥶 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
oowee Posted April 18, 2022 Report Share Posted April 18, 2022 Wow that sounds like an exciting day out. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
amateur Posted April 18, 2022 Report Share Posted April 18, 2022 (edited) You had better not swim out to this one off Sheerness. Edited April 18, 2022 by amateur Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scully Posted April 18, 2022 Report Share Posted April 18, 2022 Interesting day out! I’ve often wondered, where exactly is smithereens? 🙂 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
7daysinaweek Posted April 18, 2022 Author Report Share Posted April 18, 2022 45 minutes ago, mel b3 said: I'm putting my money on a Russian mine . 7 or 8 degrees , is colder than a witches xxx🥶 Parts of your anatomy are drawn up inside you very quickly, if you catch my drift. 43 minutes ago, oowee said: Wow that sounds like an exciting day out. Certainly was different, everyone got home safe, that is all that matters. Cheers Owee. 23 minutes ago, amateur said: You had better not swim out to this one off Sheerness. What is that? Are you allowed to swim over it or would it not be safe?? 23 minutes ago, Scully said: Interesting day out! I’ve often wondered, where exactly is smithereens? 🙂 Lol! Glad we never got to find out. 💥 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TIGHTCHOKE Posted April 18, 2022 Report Share Posted April 18, 2022 SS Richard Montgomery and its load of munitions! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scully Posted April 18, 2022 Report Share Posted April 18, 2022 45 minutes ago, 7daysinaweek said: Parts of your anatomy are drawn up inside you very quickly, if you catch my drift. Certainly was different, everyone got home safe, that is all that matters. Cheers Owee. What is that? Are you allowed to swim over it or would it not be safe?? Lol! Glad we never got to find out. 💥 😀👍 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mice! Posted April 18, 2022 Report Share Posted April 18, 2022 1 hour ago, Scully said: Interesting day out! I’ve often wondered, where exactly is smithereens? 🙂 I think it's everywhere? 2 hours ago, 7daysinaweek said: Me and mrs 7days are partial to a bit of open water swimming, having not swam in the sea since last summer which was the Burgh Island swim in Devon, we decided to have a swim at Formby which we do on occasions. April is what we refer to as our acclimitization month as the water be it the sea here, or our local quarries that we swim in are around a 'barmy' 7-8 degrees at this time of year. On Saturday we parked up at the car park at 10.30am and made our way to the boardwalk where we usually get changed next to the lifeguard station. Lots of people enjoying themselves as they should, dogs, buckets, spades and all that. Wetsuits on and we left our bags under the boardwalk as is the usual and into the water. Bloody freezing! We swam out around a 100 metres or so and headed left to what is known as the 'marker post', about half a mile away, swim around that then back which is around the mile mark all told, not too far. On our return we got out onto the beach directly opposite the boardwalk, walked through the groups of people, got dried off and then left. Just as we arrived back at the car park, costguard and police turned up, lights flashing en masse! We wondered what could of happened. A google search threw this up. (link below) Mass evacuation of the beach and bomb disposal safely detonated the offending object. The article does not say what it was, some old ordinance possibly, or something more suspect??, who knows! We walked past that child in the picture who had made the sandcastles and I pointed them out as being 'impreressive!' Thankfully no one was injured in any way however unlikely. Any roads, we were not 'blown to smithereens'. Next time we stop for a rest at sea we better check what we are 'clinging onto'. https://www.itv.com/news/granada/2022-04-16/suspicious-object-forces-beach-evacuation After the trouble there last year I was expecting trouble, a beach evacuation and controlled explosion is certainly different, it was a lovely day for it though 😅 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scully Posted April 18, 2022 Report Share Posted April 18, 2022 8 minutes ago, Mice! said: I think it's everywhere? I think you’re right! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
marsh man Posted April 18, 2022 Report Share Posted April 18, 2022 A lovely detailed report on what other people get up to in there free time , certainly something different from walking around a garden center in the morning and then looking around for pigeons in the afternoon , glad you came out of it still in one piece . MM Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
amateur Posted April 18, 2022 Report Share Posted April 18, 2022 1 hour ago, 7daysinaweek said: What is that? Are you allowed to swim over it or would it not be safe?? The SS Richard Montgomery was a US Liberty ship, stuffed full of munitions, which foundered off Sheerness, Kent during WW2. Certainly, when I was a youngster on Sheppey, you could take a joy-ride around the wreck and it was said that people dived on it. Then it became known that the cargo was deteriorating and now nobody is allowed near it. Should it go up, it would seriously spoil your day if you lived on Sheppey, and probably Chatham and Southend too! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
7daysinaweek Posted April 18, 2022 Author Report Share Posted April 18, 2022 2 hours ago, TIGHTCHOKE said: SS Richard Montgomery and its load of munitions! Cheers TT Blaster Bates rowing boat then! Reminded me of my thread on the bamboo triffid, could have done with some of them munitions to have blown the bloomin thing out. 21 minutes ago, amateur said: The SS Richard Montgomery was a US Liberty ship, stuffed full of munitions, which foundered off Sheerness, Kent during WW2. Certainly, when I was a youngster on Sheppey, you could take a joy-ride around the wreck and it was said that people dived on it. Then it became known that the cargo was deteriorating and now nobody is allowed near it. Should it go up, it would seriously spoil your day if you lived on Sheppey, and probably Chatham and Southend too! Thank you amateur, very interesting, we will give it a widddde birth. 56 minutes ago, Mice! said: I think it's everywhere? After the trouble there last year I was expecting trouble, a beach evacuation and controlled explosion is certainly different, it was a lovely day for it though 😅 We CERTAINLY DON'T want to be 'everywhere'. 24 minutes ago, marsh man said: A lovely detailed report on what other people get up to in there free time , certainly something different from walking around a garden center in the morning and then looking around for pigeons in the afternoon , glad you came out of it still in one piece . MM Cheeres MM Even though I do enjoy a day at the garden center and more so the allure of a shot at a pigeon, there is something 'wordly' different about being out in a big body of water on your own, a very unique experience indeed. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
London Best Posted April 18, 2022 Report Share Posted April 18, 2022 3 hours ago, Scully said: Interesting day out! I’ve often wondered, where exactly is smithereens? 🙂 It’s all over the place. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Old Boggy Posted April 19, 2022 Report Share Posted April 19, 2022 12 hours ago, TIGHTCHOKE said: SS Richard Montgomery and its load of munitions! Sailed round that a few times. Even more impressive at low tide. OB Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
discobob Posted April 19, 2022 Report Share Posted April 19, 2022 The training we received in the military was "if you ever step on a landmine, you need to jump in the air and spread yourself over a wide area" 😂 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Spr1985 Posted May 10, 2022 Report Share Posted May 10, 2022 For those that may be interested, the masts of the ss Montgomery (mentioned above) are due to be removed (I think next month) due to fears of them parting company with the deck/hull and falling onto the wreck below and triggering the explosives. It was in the radio earlier today. And reported in the guardian December last year :- https://amp.theguardian.com/uk-news/2021/dec/30/navy-to-dismantle-sunken-warship-on-thames-holding-unstable-explosives Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DUNKS Posted May 11, 2022 Report Share Posted May 11, 2022 I well remember being involved "duty destroyer" towing a WW2 mine "big round thing with spikes and lots of bang stuff" off the beach in Southsea. Lots of floating wartime stuff about then "1950s" Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Old Boggy Posted May 11, 2022 Report Share Posted May 11, 2022 On 19/04/2022 at 10:05, discobob said: The training we received in the military was "if you ever step on a landmine, you need to jump in the air and spread yourself over a wide area" 😂 Stolen from `Blackadder goes forth` methinks Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
discobob Posted May 11, 2022 Report Share Posted May 11, 2022 27 minutes ago, Old Boggy said: Stolen from `Blackadder goes forth` methinks Could be - from deep in the recesses of my subconsciousness - although I was serving when Black Adder Goes Forth was being shown (1989). I came out with that about 12 years ago at the new MOD Corsham site in Wiltshire, when walking across some grass with others (civvies) - when one of them chirped up that there could be landmines - to which I responded.... As above!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ditchman Posted May 11, 2022 Report Share Posted May 11, 2022 On 18/04/2022 at 18:40, TIGHTCHOKE said: SS Richard Montgomery and its load of munitions! 1800 tons.........they are working on dropping (safely ) the masts as we speak....as they think if they fall on their own accord they might set the munitions off.....it is said that the resulting explosion would blow most of the windows out in london Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Newbie to this Posted May 11, 2022 Report Share Posted May 11, 2022 26 minutes ago, ditchman said: 1800 tons.........they are working on dropping (safely ) the masts as we speak....as they think if they fall on their own accord they might set the munitions off.....it is said that the resulting explosion would blow most of the windows out in london And reshape the Isle of Sheppy, so not all bad Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
enfieldspares Posted May 11, 2022 Report Share Posted May 11, 2022 (edited) On 18/04/2022 at 20:24, amateur said: The SS Richard Montgomery was a US Liberty ship, stuffed full of munitions, which foundered off Sheerness, Kent during WW2. Certainly, when I was a youngster on Sheppey, you could take a joy-ride around the wreck and it was said that people dived on it. Then it became known that the cargo was deteriorating and now nobody is allowed near it. Should it go up, it would seriously spoil your day if you lived on Sheppey, and probably Chatham and Southend too! I hope that the terms of sale back in WWII for the British Ministry of Supply were "Payment on Delivery" and not "FOB at Origin"! Edited May 11, 2022 by enfieldspares Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TIGHTCHOKE Posted May 11, 2022 Report Share Posted May 11, 2022 https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/850374/SS_Richard_Montgomery.pdf Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ditchman Posted May 11, 2022 Report Share Posted May 11, 2022 59 minutes ago, TIGHTCHOKE said: https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/850374/SS_Richard_Montgomery.pdf quite honestly.....how dangerous are the muntions.....are they that sensertive after all them decades...????? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.
Note: Your post will require moderator approval before it will be visible.