NavList:

Just to remind you that the next Royal Institute of Navigation free Online Lecture is “The Dutch Raid on the Medway 1667” by Chris Tarratt at 18.30UTC tomorrow Thursday 29^th October. You may register here: https://rin.org.uk/events/EventDetails.aspx?id=1436520&group=

There’s probably not much about navigation apart from possibly the difficulties of piloting a fleet of 60+ sailing vessels safely into the Thames Estuary and the River Medway and out again, but it’s a good chance to hear about the Brits being humiliated by the Dutch.

The Raid on the Medway, during the Second Anglo-Dutch War in June 1667, was a successful attack conducted by the Dutch navy on English warships laid up in the fleet anchorages off Chatham Dockyard and Gillingham in the county of Kent. At the time, the fortress of Upnor Castle and a barrier chain called the "Gillingham Line" were supposed to protect the English ships.

The Dutch, under nominal command of Willem Joseph van Ghent and Lieutenant-Admiral Michiel de Ruyter, over several days bombarded and captured the town of Sheerness, sailed up the Thames estuary to Gravesend, then sailed into the River Medway to Chatham and Gillingham, where they engaged fortifications with cannon fire, burned or captured three capital ships and ten more ships of the line, and captured and towed away the flagship of the English fleet, HMS Royal Charles.

Politically, the raid was disastrous for King Charles' war plans and led to a quick end to the war and a favourable peace for the Dutch. It was one of the worst defeats in the Royal Navy's history, and one of the worst suffered by the British military." ^(Wikipedia)

For those who missed the last RIN Free Online Seminar on “The History of Air Navigation” the talks, less the Q&A sessions can be found here https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCqbRLKv79fgD1MFlNmAuswQ . DaveP