www.cornishmaritimetrust.org the cornish maritime trust

www.cornishmaritimetrust.org

The Cornish Maritime Trust



Agenda for the talk

•Introduction to the trust•Trust activities•Trust organisation

•The restoration of the craft•Sailing the craft



The Speakers

•Marcus Clark - Trustee

•Adam Kerr – Chairman of the Trustees



The Speakers

•Marcus Clark



The Speakers

•Marcus Clark

•Adam Kerr



Adam Kerr

Today is an anniversary for AdamOn January 6th 1950 he signed his indentures as a apprenticeDeck Officer



Introduction to the Trust•Founded in 1994

•2 ‘hulks’ were purchased from the National Maritime Trust for £1 each, Barnabas and Soft Wing

•To say they were in a sorry stateis understatement, at the time theywere only fit for firewood

•Later, the Ellen and Sea Urchin were acquired.

•Through grants and the dedication of Trustees and members the boats were all restored to their former glory



The Trust mission•The experience of sailing historic Cornish fishing vessels available to everyone

•To enable learning about Cornish Maritime heritage, the boats and the men who sailed them, in a vivid and creative way

•To preserve our heritage

•To make the boats financially accessible for the whole community to enjoy

•To teach and train new crew and Skippers



The Trust mission 2•Very cheap membership with all members having access to the boats

•Projects with local schools

•Working with NEETS

•Sailing and showing off our beautiful craft at classic festivals, regattas and other events both in the UK and France

What makes us very different is that we are not a museum where you just look, we work and sail the boats and keep them alive, not fossils Not this,

But this…..



The BoatsEllen and Sea Urchin•Gorran Haven Crabbers

•Ellen was built in 1882 by Dick Pill for the Willmott Family

• Her lines and Spritsail rig are specific to Gorran Haven and she was the fastest ever built

•By 1900 she was being fished by the Billings brothers, Dick and Andrew, who moved her to Flushing as there were too many crabbers in Gorran Haven!

• Sea Urchin is a smaller replica which was donated to the Trust



The BoatsEllen and Sea Urchin 2•Craft of this design we used for inshore crab fishing in Megavissey/Gorran Haven area

•The sprit rig on the main and mizzen allowed the sails to be brailled leaving the main area of the deck clear for fishing and handling the pots

•The centre thwart was removed for the same reason

•Beautiful lines but low on the bow for working the pots means they tend to be wet boats

•Ellen carries ballast, Sea Urchin has a centre board



The BoatsEllen and Sea Urchin 3•Both are maintained in first class condition

•Both are based in Mousehole (but could be moved)

•They are available for all members to sail (but those who help with maintenance in the winter get preference)

•No RYA qualification required

•Booking system on the website



The Boats - Soft Wing• A 24ft Truro River Oyster Dredger, registration number TO 4

•Designed in 1899 and completed in 1900 by Frank Hitchens and his son Tom, at Yard Point on Penpol Creek •She was the last boat built by Hitchens for Edward Green who used her to dredge the oyster beds at the northern end of the river controlled by Truro.

•The only Falmouth “working boat” to have retained her original rig



The Boats - Soft Wing 2•She dredged using iron dredges towed on each side with sail adjusted for the correct speed and her tiller lashed•She is very full in the bilge with a rounded forefoot and is considered by many to have the ultimate hull form for her trade.

•The dredge would be lifted on the lee side and the oysters sorted

•On the after end of the side deck are sorting trays for this purpose.

•There is a sister vessel to Soft Wing still working the oyster beds



The Boats - Soft Wing 3•She is maintained in first class condition and is MCA coded

•She is berthed is Falmouth and is to be seen regularly in the Fal/Helford area

•She is available for all members to sail, to comply with MCA regulations, she must be Skippered by someone who has a RYA Dayskipper qualification and has passed an MCA medical and is commercially endorsed




The Boats - Barnabas•The flagship of the fleet, LOA 40’, LWL 38’ 6”, beam 11’ 6”, draft 6’, tons 11.7

•The only survivor from St Ives of the fleet of lug rigged seine and drift net fishing boats

•Built for Barnabas Thomas by Henry Trevorrow above Porthgwidden beach, St.Ives. She was originally registered on 28th October 1881 as a Class 2 pilchard boat. Later she was re-registered as a Class 1 mackerel driver and her number switched to SS 634. The number is said to have been chosen as it corresponds to the hymn “Will Your Anchor Hold” in the Methodist hymn book.



The Boats – Barnabas 2

•Each port had its own particular design of lugger

•St Ives luggers were double ended so as to moor in the swells (tide flow around the stern)

•Newlyn and Looe luggers had conventional transoms as they were moored in better protected harbours



The Boats – Barnabas 3•Tacking required the lug to be dipped

•Dipping involved manually taking down the sail and turning the spar around the mast

•The disadvantage was compensated by better performance on a long reach out to the fishing grounds and back

•First home achieving best prices and the freshest fish

•The foresail was a dipping lug and the mizzen was a standing lug



The Boats – Barnabas 4Reducing sail in a blow

•Sail is reduced not by reefing, but by swapping sails. The sail on the mizzen mast becomes the foresail and a smaller sail is hoisted on the mizzen mast and so on if the wind blows harder

Drift net fishing

•Luggers were used for fishing for pilchards, mackerel and herring usually at night. A long drift net was shot over the starboard bow and the fish were caught in the mesh as the lugger drifted down off the wind controlled by the mizzen sail



The Boats – Barnabas 5•She is maintained in first class condition and is MCA coded

•Her home port is Mousehole but she also has a mooring in Falmouth where she spends a lot of the summer if not ‘on tour’

•She is available for all members to sail, to comply with MCA regulations, she must be Skippered by someone who has a RYA Coastal Skipper qualification and has passed an MCA medical and is commercially endorsed




The sailing program

•When not attending an event or festival the boats are available to all members with the proviso that a qualified Skipper is required for Barnabas and Soft Wing.

•The website has a calendar and booking system that allows members to see when boats are available and book them

•This also allows members to book crew spaces for longer passages and cruises and attending maritime events



Festivals and regattas•Isles of Scilly Gig Championships

(the ‘shakedown’ cruise at the end of April)



Festivals and regattas•Isles of Scilly Gig Championships•Looe Lugger festival•Fowey Classics•PASAB•Paimpol Sea Shanty festival•Boat is the Bay, St Ives•Brixham heritage festival•Megavissey Fish festival•Newlyn Fish festival•etc etc etc



Festivals and regattasLes Fêtes maritimes de Douarnenez

A gathering of historic boats from the Celtic fringes, is a particular favourite among Trust members.(I am sure the copious amounts of fine food and booze have nothing to do with it!)



Diamond Jubilee pageantA highlight for 2012

•The Queen’s Diamond Jubilee pageant on the Thames, it is possible Barnabas will be one of the boats representing Cornwall

•We will be asking Yacht Clubs to offer berths and crew for the various legs of our passage to London and back

•We will be seeking sponsors



Raising funds•Membership fees

•Company Sponsorships

•Grants

•Corporate events

•Sale of books and CDs

•Subsidies

We live on a shoestring and need more corporate sponsors



The organisationPresident: Nick TrefusisVice President: Chris Perkins

This set of reprobates are the Trustees….

Adam ‘The Commodore’ Kerr Nick ‘Master at Arms’ Marsh

Marcus ‘Old Salt’ Clark Bob ‘Stinkboat’ Anderson Tim ‘The Fisherman’ Pullen Captain Peter ‘Henry’ Morgan



The organisationAs well as new members, we urgently need new Trustees for a variety of roles, namely:•A Treasurer•Corporate/Company sponsorship•More Skippers and Mates who would like to be Skippersespecially for the Barnabas

We have a critical issue of succession planning……

We have too many Skippers who look like this……..

We need a few more than just Mark Preedythat look like this (or under 65 anyway!).......

Do let us know if you are interested



The organisation

In fact why not some Skippers like this?

Do let us know if you are interested



A future Barnabas crew?

(A crew takingpart in theFowey Classics)



The other strategic issue

Where should the fleet be based in the future?

•Advantages/Disadvantages of Mounts Bay

•Advantages/disadvantages of theFalmouth area

•Weather and tide•Catchment area•Facilities

If Roger Graffy offered us a home?



Finally on organisation – our Master Mariner



Possible collaboration with MYC

•Lugger Skippers course

•Young members

•Sponsorship

•Yachtmaster/MCA endorsement bursary

•Berthing

www.cornishmaritimetrust.org the cornish maritime trust

Documents