As The Ramsgate Hovercraft draws towards completing its debut album a timely bit of luck allowed us to get down to the Slipway boatyard at Ramsgate Harbour and record the strangely celestial sounds of the launching of the Nore Crest tugboat.  In newsreels and documentary footage these boats appear sweet, wee vessels, but, when viewed up close and personal-like, they are behemoths in their own right.  Sending a ship like this back out to sea after its refurbishment is a hefty operation (similar to prancing about with a dainty little Zoom mic!)  – and the twisted animal-like noises it makes in its slow descent match the scale of the tugboat – a quarter hour or more of wrenching locomotive-like wheels & constantly oil drenched cables whining a celebration of sorts.  Thanks to main man Jim at the shipyard for letting us make this field recording that will no doubt add another far-out extra dimension to our forthcoming LP.