The entrance to the River Tyne can be hazardous in bad weather for vessels under sail and was very much more so before the completion of the North and South piers.This fact posed many problems for Tyne Pilots operating a ‘Boarding Service’. Traditionally their craft of choice for this operation was the ‘coble’. The flat sterner coble was of unique design capable of being launched and recovered in adverse weather from the gradually shelving beaches found between Berwick and the Humber. The coble was developed for use in the coastal fishing industry and as such was originally in effect a cargo vessel. In addition to its capabilities aforementioned it was unrivalled in its ability to point very high into the wind. It is inherent that with increased specialisation in any area that there will be commensurate drawbacks in others. The coble could, in in-experienced hands, be a dangerous proposition. For pilotage purposes it was redeveloped more as a fast yacht. Pilots operating solely in the vicinity of their harbour often used a variation of the flat stem coble called a ‘mule’ but this variant could not be safely beached in bad weather.

Tyne Pilots generally ‘sought’ for ships between Berwick and Flamborough and for that reason did in the main hold to their flat sterner coble. These craft could not only live at sea in the most adverse weather but also were the craft which gave the best chance of beaching safely in an emergency. The problem for Tyne Pilots was that of getting out of the Tyne entrance under sail during periods of heavy weather from Easterly quadrants and in particular during the duration of the ebb stream. For many years they petitioned the Pilotage Authority of the day, Trinity House Newcastle, to provide a steam vessel to allow them to get to sea on such occasions. These petitions went unheeded.

Tyne Pilots eventually decided to provide a steam vessel for themselves to maintain a boarding and landing service in bad weather. To do this they entered on a program of both chartering and of owning steam vessels to act as Cruising Pilot Vessels. I have been unable to determine all of those vessels chartered from time to time but the ‘Great Britain’ and the ‘President’ were amongst them The first wholly owned vessel was ‘Pilot’ which operated very successfully, was the source of a deal of salvage money for the pilots and during the course of her duties also saved the lives of a number of pilots and fishermen. ‘Pilot’ was also used for coastal trips and probably was hired by Trinity House Newcastle from time to time for ‘Inspections ofLights and Beacons’ along the stretch of coast for which they had responsibility. ‘Pilot’ was built at the South Shields yard ofAndrew Woodhouse for the Tyne Pilots. Her particulars were as follows:Length 73Ft. B 165Ft. D 9Ft. Steam propulsion: 30 HP. Launched 18th August 1852. The accompanying illustration of ‘Pilot’ cruising off the Tyne Entrance is that of a painting by John Scott who was a famous marine and landscape painter. His birthplace was South Shields and spent his early life at sea before becoming a pupil of John Wilson Carmichael. Scott, unlike Carmichael remained on Tyneside for his entire life.

The second vessel to be purchased by the pilots to operate in this capacity was the ‘Robert Ingham’.

‘Authority’ for the provision of pilotage services in Tyne District was eventually taken out of the hands of Trinity House in 1865 and was vested in the Tyne Pilotage Commission. However it was not until 1907 that the Pilotage Authority at last caused to have built a steam vessel to act as a cruising pilot vesseL This vessel was named ‘Protector’ and was featured in the July 2009 issue of this magazine.

J.H.Bum.

THPV Bembridge on station.                    Photo: A Adams’ collection

Having been unable to locate a suitable riverside property for the company, Magemar Manager and shipping enthusiast Rafal Zahorski discovered the old Bembridge rapidly rotting away on the river Medway after plans to convert her into a floating restaurant had been abandoned.

Bembridge rotting on the River Medway          Photo: Magemar

Although engineless and in a very poor state internally, the hull was still basically sound and Magemar purchased her in February 2009 and she was towed across the North Sea to Poland by the Polish tug Argus. Despite encountering a gale on the North Sea passage the Bembridge arrived safely in Swinoujscie after a five day passage but was then nearly lost whilst being towed the short distance up river from Swinoujscie to Szczecin where an ice flow holed the bow.

Bembridge arriving in Poland                      Photo: Magemar

Fortunately salvage pumps were able to cope with the ingress of water and for the last year she has been undergoing a full restoration / conversion. A full survey revealed serious corrosion in many places and some of the hull plating and most of the deck have been replaced but having been sand blasted, primed and coated, the Bembridge is now back in the water being fitted out. With the exception of the office which is to be located in the old engine room Rafal has been scouring the world for authentic fittings to ensure that the rest of the vessel will look as original as possible. This has not been an easy task because the interior has been totally altered since her Trinity House days and despite searching the archives of both Trinity House and Smith’s Yard, where she was built, Rafal has been unable to locate any original plans for the vessel.  With the aid of photographs and the assistance of retired pilots Andy Adams and Hugh Fergusson the external appearance is now correct and by retaining the port of Registry as London she will still fly the Red Ensign and the hull will be panted the original black with a white stripe and will have the original PILOTS and No1 painted on the sides. As a result of his painstaking research and dedication Rafal is gradually accumulating fittings for the wheelhouse and deck and late last year located and purchased what are probably the last two remaining boarding boats in existence.  Rafal’s search is not just limited to items and records relating to the Bembridge but because he has been absorbed by the history he is planning to house a small museum on board devoted to Trinity House pilotage so is also seeking records and memorabilia of Trinity House in general.Can any of you help? Do you have any old photographs log books or even just stories? You can contact Rafal directly or join the blog exchanges on the Ships Nostalgia website via the links below.

History of the THPV Bembridge

Bembridge was designed by Sir William Reed in early 1938 for Trinity House as their first purpose built twin screw diesel engined pilot cutter and as such, a lot of care had been put into the design. She was built by Smith’s Dock Company Co. Ltd. in Middlesborough and launched on 14th July 1938. She was 142 ft (43m) LOA and was commissioned at Cowes on 6th october 1938.for use as a cruising pilot cutter for Isle of Wight/Southampton District operating at the Nab and the Needles stations where she served throughout the war. In 1941 she received a direct hit from a bomb but fortunately it failed to explode and passed harmlessly through the bow.

In 1947 Bembridge was transferred to the London district where she worked as the cruising cutter, alternating service between the Dungeness and Sunk boarding grounds.

In 1968  a launch service operating out of a new, purpose built, pilot station at Folkestone replaced the cruising cutter and she returned to the Solent operating as a Mother ship and communications vessel until finally being withdrawn from Trinity House service in 1970.

In 1971 she was purchased by Arundel Priory for use as a training ship preparing under-privileged children for a seagoing career. That project was short lived and in 1972 she was bought by Cosag Marine Services and fitted out as a survey ship for North Sea oil exploration. Much of her accommodation was removed for this work which she continued to undertake successfully until 1976 when she was sold to the Essex Yacht Club for use as their clubhouse at Leigh on Sea. The conversion to a clubhouse saw the removal of the engines, generators, funnel and deck machinery and other alterations resulted in very little of the interior remaining recognisable.

In 2004 the Essex Yacht Club purchased the GRP minehunter HMS Wilton and Bembridge was towed to the Medway where plans to convert her to a floating restaurant failed to materialise.

Becoming aware of her existence in 2006, Magemar purchased her in February 2009.

At the time of writing this the hull and decks have been restored and fitting out of the interior is underway. Magemar hope to have the restoration complete by early summer this year. I’m sure that you will join me in thanking Rafal and Magemar for undertaking this important restoration.

During his research Rafal has accumulated a wealth of information, not just about Bembridge but also Trinity House in general and the Smith’s Yard and he has placed all the information and links on the Magemar website at the following link:

http://www.bembridge.pl/

In the absence of any museum in the UK housing Trinity House memorabilia, Rafal is keen for the Bembridge to fill this gap in our maritime heritage. If you are interested in helping him to realise this vision please contact him directly via the above website.

Ready for fitting out: December 2009          Photo: Rafal Zahorski

or write to :

Rafal Zahorski

C/O Magemar Polska Sp. z o.o.

70-603 Szczecin
ul. Bytomska 7;

Tel: +48 91 430 88 91
Fax: +48 91 430 88 9

There is also a vast amount of additional information on the Ship Nostalgia blog at the following link:

http://www.shipsnostalgia.com/showthread.php?t=24193&page=8

UPDATE MAY 2010

The painting is now complete and Bembridge has been towed to her final berth where every ship visiting Szczecin will be able to admire her in her origianl state:

You will note that the pilot flag is flying from a bamboo pole. This was the practice when in service as retired London district Trinity House pilot Hugh Ferguson explains:

The reason for the bamboo stick was to fly the flag above the truck (top-most part of a mast) of the mast so that the flag would fly above and clear of the mast. To do this, have the stick twice as long as the depth of the flag. Attach it to the halyard with a half-hitch of the halyard in the middle of the stick under the flag-then another half-hitch of the halyard at the lower end of the stick.

With this arrangement, when the flag is hoisted as high as it will go it will be free to fly above the top-most part of the mast and not become foul of the mast as the cutter manoeuvres.

JCB

The Pilotage History

In order to better understand the role of the Bristol Channel skiff it is useful to understand the pilotage area that they covered since the pilots also served vessels trading to ports in S Wales as well as Bristol. The picture however is not as clear cut as the name suggests because due to the competition between pilots in those days there are records in the Welsh ports of their own pilots and in a further complication, the Bristol Channel pilots were not based in Bristol at all but at the small village of Pill at the mouth of the river Avon.

The records of pilotage out of Pill go back to 1497 when barge master James Ray was appointed by the Mayor and Corporation of Bristol to pilot John Cabot’s Mathew on its historic voyage to the New World. Pill subsequently became the centre for Bristol Channel pilots but the relationship between Pill and Bristol was not a happy one and this strained relationship could probably fill a book of its own so suffice to note for period covered by this article that the pilots operated under the Bristol Channel Pilotage Act of 1807 from which the following extract defines the pilotage area as;

from a certain Place about Four Miles Eastward of King Road and so down the River Severn and Bristol Channel to the two small islands called the Stipe Holmes and the Flat Holmes … (and their authority shall) be extended to the Appointment of Pilots for the conducting of Ships and Vessels into and out of and upon the whole of the Bristol Channel, and the several Ports, Harbours and Creeks belonging to and issuing from the same … (that is) all Vessels passing up and down and upon the Bristol Channel to and from the Eastward of Lundy Island, and in or upon the several creeks of the said Channels.

The fact that theirs was a tough life can appreciated by the photo of Pill pilots and “Westernmen” taken around 1880!

Pill Pilots & “Westernmen c 1880

The Sailing Skiffs

There are no historical records of skiffs and their construction prior to the early 19th century but like many craft the evolution would have been gradual over the centuries to met the three main requirements of speed, seaworthiness and ease of handling. The very nature of pilotage in those days where pilots were in direct competition with each other would have meant that any design element which gave a new boat the edge over existing boats would have been incorporated by others and there is no doubt that this constant drive to gain advantage over others is what caused these remarkable vessels to not only become the best sailing craft of their day but also for the design to be still one that is world renowned as one of the best blue water sailing craft in the 21st Century.

The earliest reliable record is from the 1795 Register of Ships which was instigated by the Corporation of Bristol that year and lists 12 Skiffs and provides their tonnage which ranged between 14 and 24 tons but no other details. Other records from the early 19th Century provide more details of some skiffs still surviving from the 1780’s & 90’s and the lengths of the craft ranged between 33 ft (10m) and 40 ft (12.2m). The sail plans weren’t recorded but the skiff James and Samuel which is listed in the 1795 register was sold in 1812 and the equipment included 1 mainsail, 2 foresails, 4 jibs, 1 squaresail, 1 gaff topsail and 1 topmast steering sail.

The earliest photograph of a skiff is that of the Trial which belonged to pilot T Vowles (1847 -78). and shows the squaresail yard which was seemingly a common feature on the early skiffs..

The Trial : An early skiff

It may be thought that detailed plans would exist for the cutters, especially those built in the late 19th and early 20th century, but such plans are virtually non existent because the construction lines were either taken from existing hulls or from half hull models. Also there was no “standard” model with lengths generally varying between 40ft ( 2.2m) and 50 ft (15.2m). Despite the variation in length the method of construction and timber used was fairly standard and the construction was usually of English oak, English elm and pitch pine with interior fittings of teak. Despite the lack of detailed drawings there is the following specification for the Kindly Light, a cutter built for Barry pilot Lewis Alexander dated1911:

General Dimensions: 52ft overall, 141/2 ft. beam, about 81/2 ft. draught. Length of keel, 38ft. Vessel to be built with round forefoot and elliptic stem. Cabin to be fitted with 2 berths and usual lockers. Forecastle fitted with 2 berths, lockers and racks for sails. Materials to be the best of their respective description and to be fitted in a workmanlike manner.

Keel: To be of English elm. (Generally the elm keels were in one length and about 18 inches deep and 6 inches wide)

Stem & Stem Posts: Of English oak.

Floors, frames, stanchions and beams: Of oak.

Keelson: Of pitch pine.

Planking: 1 oak plank round top, pitch pine to bilge, stout elm bilge 21/2 inch, remainder of plank of elm or pitch pine l1/2inch.

Rails: To be of elm or oak with greenheart capping.

Decks: Best yellow pine.

Fastenings: To be galvanized iron.

Masts: To be cutter-rigged with pole size as required.

Bowsprit, boom, gaff, topsail yard, two oars, boat hook. Booming out spar. Ironwork on Keel: Ballast iron.

Rigging: Three shrouds each side of 2in wire, forestay 31/2 inch wire running tackle.

Sails: One mainsail, one foresail, two topsails, three jibs, one balloon foresail, one spinnaker.

Painting: Vessel to be scraped, cemented and concreted up to bilge, to have two coats oil paint, two coats paint on bottom and top sides. Cabin to be varnished, forecastle to be grained.

Brasses for rudder head and collar for trunk and head of stem post.

Sundries and Utensils: Four plates, four mugs, cooking stove, knives, forks and spoons, saucepans etc. Foghorn, bulb flashlight, Morse lamp, combination lamp, water tank 60 gallons, table in forecastle. A

As an interesting note, I understand that Kindly Light still exists and is currently being fully restored in time for her centenary.

The performance of any sailing vessel is as dependent upon the cut and set of her sails but especially for pilots since their livelihood depended upon getting out to the boarding ground ahead of the competition.

The mainsail was of cotton in summer and flax in winter and they were fitted with four sets of reef points and were loose footed.  An indication of the extreme conditions that these craft had to work in, when set to the fourth set, the gaff jaws were almost down to the boom gooseneck. Later, some cutters were fitted with roller-reefing and so were laced to a wooden jackstay or ‘combe’ along the boom. The disadvantage of this reefing was that as the sail was rolled the leech exerted a load on the boom between the gooseneck and mainsheet and the stronger the wind the greater the stress. However, the risk of a broken boom was more than offset by the ease of handling.

The number of headsails carried depended largely on the affluence of the owner, but in all boats it was usual to have a working foresail, which had two sets of reef-points, a balloon foresail and three jibs, namely the large jib or ‘spinnaker’, working or ‘slave’ jib and storm or ‘spitfire’ jib. One or more topsails were also carried

Pilots didn’t normally tan or ‘cutch’ their sails as it was essential that their number or port initial should stand out clearly, but one Welsh pilot apparently carried a tanned jackyard topsail for reasons of strategy. When cruising amongst the numerous tan-sailed fishing craft, he would set this tanned topsail to disguise himself as one of them, and work out to the westward of a rival cutter, resetting his normal sail when the advantage had been gained. Some pilots made their own sails using skills gained on deep-water sailing ships during their required ‘sea-time’ .

When steamships made their appearance the pilots rapidly exploited the possibility of using the ship to tow the skiff back to port in order for it to be available immediately for the next job! This resulted in the unique structural fitting of heavy towing bits being added to the foredeck of the craft.  Somewhat understandably, the crews apparently hated being towed because with the ship steaming at full speed it was exhausting to keep the skiff under control with the foredeck awash!! Pilot Frank Trott actually fitted a proper tug’s towing hook to the fore side of his cutter Marguerite.  Marguerite is also still sailing today.

The cutter Cymro under tow!  photo N Alexander

The Skiffs at Work

The other important aspect of the skiffs was that handling should be manageable by a cox’n and deck hand so the deck fittings, rigging and layout were designed with the same eye for efficiency as the hull and sail plan.

The mainmast was a stout spar wire shrouds but no backstays, and was usually surmounted by a short fidded topmast which was supported by a topmast forestay and a pair of wire shrouds, but often no spreaders and, again, no topmast backstays. The spars were of pine and very heavy in order to eliminate as much supporting rigging as possible, as in the case of the bowsprit which, although sometimes fitted with an adjustable bobstay wasn’t fitted with shrouds in order to facilitate the frequent adjustments necessary to change jibs or reef jib. The bowsprit was normally shipped through a hole in the bulwark to starboard of the stem post.

Just abaft of the aforementioned bitts was the fore-hatch which gave access to the foc’s'le and forepeak and aft of that a little forward of amidships was the mast. Spare spars and sweeps were stowed fore-and-aft in two vertically mounted iron hoops. Aft of the mast a companion hatch was situated at the fore end of the self draining cockpit.  There was usually just one seat athwart-ships at the after end of the cockpit and as additional useful feature, the cutter Pet had a lavatory pan built into one comer of the cockpit seat!

Behind the cockpit coaming was the mainsheet horse and rudder post. The lower mainsheet block was not on a running traveller but was located at the centre of the horse by two very heavy flanking coil springs, or buffers. These buffers were highly necessary as the cutters were frequently gybed all standing as a standard manoeuvre when working and there was seldom time -or hands -to spare for the refinement of overhauling the sheet to ease the load. Generally speaking, the horse was about 2ft to 2ft 6in in length and was mounted between two very strong iron uprights, just high enough to allow clearance for the tiller arm.

The pilot’s boarding punt was kept on the port side, abaft the main rigging, stowed in chocks right way up. This was usually a clinker-built boat about 13ft length  often painted white so as to be easily identified at night.

Skiffs generally had fairly high bulwarks, of about 1ft 6in to 2ft, with a removable section through which the punt was launched to be rowed to and from the ship, Many punts had a standing wire strop fastened between the inside of the stem and transom at the point of balance, and to get the punt back on board the cutter a burton from the masthead was made fast to the eye in the strop, thus making it comparatively easy to hoist it inboard.

There were a few deadlights flush mounted into the deck to provide daylight below and there were rarely any ventilators ( they got enough fresh air!) fitted so the decks were clear  of obstructions for working.

On station the cutters were required to display a pilot flag which in 1849 became the white over red flag still in use today. At night an all round white light was displayed supplemented by a kerosene flare every 15 minutes with each port having a sequence code for displaying the flare. For example the flare code for Bristol was two shorts and a long. After 1858 the cutters were required to display sidelights at night when underway but contemporary accounts indicate that this was frequently ignored, especially in calms when it was not unusual for cutters to extinguish all their lights and get the sweeps out and row the cutter to gain a Westerly advantage over other cutters. Once a ship was encountered that required the services of the pilot, the ship would heave to while the cutter would work into the lee of the ship and “out punt” to transfer the pilot across for boarding. One man and the pilot would do the rowing whilst the man remaining on board would sail clear single handed and once the pilot had shipped return close under the lee of the ship to  recover the punt and other man. The cutter would then either sail or be towed back to the home port ready for the next run out. Occasionally more than one pilot would be on board so the cutter would remain out on station looking for other work. I refer to both the cutter hands as “men” but it was normally the case that these cutter hands were related to the pilots and were pilot apprentices themselves so there was no on board distinction of cox’n and deck hand

“Out Punt”    Painting by Peter Stuckey

There are some today who question whether the skiffs were actually sailed by two men but  this was definitely the case. Peter Stuckey wrote the book when some of the old sailing pilots were still alive and he undertook interviews which has left us a valuable records of those days. These first hand accounts reveal not just a life of hardship and danger but almost unbelievable accounts of seamanship skills.

The following are extracts from the story of Captain George Buck who served his apprenticeship skiffs in the early 1900’s.

Once we were hove to about 5 miles SW of the Wolf Rock, the wind had died away to a flat calm, the sea like a mirror, very dark without a cloud in the sky and the stars shining in the water the same as in the sky, all the lighthouses showing their lights all around the horizon and the Lizard light flashing in the sky. I was on 12 to 4 watch when a ship’s masthead light came in sight. I took a bearing and saw she would pass a long way to the north of us and, having no wind, the only thing I could do was show the Bristol signal on the flashlight, though as the flashlight was usually used by fishing boats in this area ships generally gave it a wide berth. We were expecting one of Pyman’s ships along, called the Cober, she being five days out from Gibraltar. I decided to call one of the pilots (we had two on board) and when he came on deck I suggested calling the other pilot, launching the punt and pulling as far as possible to get as close as we could, then to show the flashlight and hail her with the megaphone. We pulled until she was abreast of us, still more than a mile away, showed the flashlight and started to hail her, but eventually had to give up and had started to pull back to the skiff when we saw her port light come in sight and she came towards us, and sure enough it was the Cober bound for Bristol. I put the pilot on board and he towed me back to the skiff. The next night we still a flat calm. In the 12 to 4 watch I heard my mate come below and tell the other pilot a ship was in sight a long way to the north. I turned out and suggested another pull, the pilot agreed and this time he took an oar and we made the punt fly through the water, stopping now and again to show the flashlight. We were just deciding to give up when she went hard-a-starboard and steamed towards us. She was bound for Bristol and of course I expected to be towed back to the skiff, but when the pilot suggested this to the captain he told him had lost a blade and a half of his propeller and wanted to make sure of his tide. The pilot looked over the bridge and told me but I did not care, being happy to think we had another ship, and started to row back. After pulling for some time I stopped to see if I could pick up the skiff’s light but with so many stars reflected in the water I could not find it but I could see the Wolf light and knew if I pulled in that direction I was bound to find her. It seemed I had been rowing for hours alone in the world and I started singing to keep myself company. Then I stopped rowing, looked around and saw a light and was close to the skiff. My mate was pleased to see me back and I often wonder how many miles I rowed that night.

….It was very dark as we were approaching Barry entrance when suddenly a blue light (a signal for a pilot), was shown from a large ship at anchor in the roads. We sailed off to her and she was the Everton Grange (twin-screw) bound for Avonmouth. We hailed her, told them to put a ladder over and we would put a pilot on board.

The weather had by now got worse with a strong west wind and confused sea, with the tide ebbing west. The ship was lying across the tide, with the tide running on her lee side at about three knots. This meant we had to keep well to leeward, drop the punt with the pilot and myself, and the man in the skiff would have to get back into the wind, then come back and pick me up. If he lost the wind under her lee the tide would set the skiff down on the ship and do some damage. Everything went along fine. I put the pilot on the ladder and the skiff was coming back to pick me up with sufficient way to take her in to the wind again. I was about to jump aboard with the painter when the pilot hailed us to come back and take the Liverpool pilot in as he wished to catch the first train back to Liverpool in the morning. I rowed back to the ladder and then saw that the skiff had lost the wind and was setting down on the ship and we could do nothing to stop her going alongside. We managed to get a couple of fenders over and she brought up on the ship’s starboard quarter close to the propeller, the tide pinning her there. I made the punt fast to the skiff and asked them to pass us down a rope to heave us clear of the ship’s quarter as every time she rolled she smashed our bulwarks and the propeller was very close. But before we got the rope the propeller started to revolve and we yelled for them to stop it. The engines were stopped right away, they passed us down a rope and as they hove us amidships the pilot looked over the ship’s side and asked what all the shouting was about. I told him we had been close to the propeller and felt sure it had touched our bottom. The pilot, using the ship’s engines, then brought her head to tide and we were able to sail away from her.

I pulled up the floorboards in the steerage to make sure we were not making water as the blades of the propeller had been whizzing round abreast our cockpit. When we found everything was all right we asked if the Liverpool pilot still wanted us to land him. The reply being ‘Yes’, I rowed back to the ladder and took him off. We got alongside the skiff and having hauled the punt on board, set more sail and as we shaped course for Avonmouth I made a pot of tea.The next day the pilot came on board to survey the damage. It was not serious, about six feet of bulwark damaged. We pulled up the floorboards over the pump-well and found she had not made any water. The pilot then asked me why I had been shouting and I told him if he had been on board the skiff with that propeller churning round alongside he also would have done some shouting and I was still of the opinion that the propeller had touched our bottom. About three weeks later we put her on Ilfracombe Strand to scrub and tar her bottom and we found the bottom scored to to a depth of about 1/2 inch over a 3 foot length! It was the only time I was really frightened.

..We were cruising about 30 miles west of Lundy Island in a strong westerly wind and rough sea, expecting the Dominion liner, Manxman. We knew there were no skiffs to the westward of us and if she came along she would be ours. We had three rolls in the mainsail, reefed foresail and storm jib. About midday the pilot decided to run towards the island as the wind was increasing, as sometimes, when blowing hard, the wind would decrease to leeward, but when we got abreast the north end of Lundy the wind increased, so, putting another roll in the mainsail, we decided to run farther up Channel. About 8 pm we rolled the mainsail down with the jaws of the gaff on the mainboom, double reefed the foresail and hove-to, being now between the Nash and Foreland Point.

We never cared to give up the chance of a ship and we were certain if the Manxman came along she would be ours and, being a large ship and loaded, we should manage to board her. At 10 pm the pilot came on deck and the wind seemed to be increasing, with heavy squalls and confused sea, so he told me to put the helm up and run for Barry Roads. This skiff was the old Glance and she would run in any sea and never take any water over the stern. Just before midnight the pilot came on deck again and told me to make a pot of tea and call my mate. This I did and was on my way to the cockpit with a cup for the pilot when I heard a crash and when I got to the cockpit I found that the mainboom had snapped like a carrot. The mainsheet and the end of the boom were towing in the water and the mainsail was in ribbons. We had a difficult job getting the broken piece of boom on board and were afraid it might hit the side and break a plank} but we finally got everything secured and again running before the wind. I thought we should go to Barry but the pilot said we would go to Pill as we would require a new mainsail and mainboom.

Lowering the foresail and jib, we put a spare foresail fore side of the mast, hoisted it up and were away like a scalded cat. When we reached the river we hoisted the reaching foresail aft side of the mast for a mainsail, set the foresail and arrived at Pill just before high water. While we were mooring, the havenmaster’s office hailed the boatman’s shelter to say that the Manxman was in King Road and had asked for a pilot. We had not only lost a mainsail and mainboom but also a good paying ship. That was just the luck of the draw in the days of competitive piloting

This is just a small selection of accounts from George Buck and others in the book but provides a valuable insight into the life of pilots who earned their livelihood from the skiffs. Although several pilots and boatmen lost their lives in this service their losses were remarkably low considering the conditions they suffered and were probably no more than those of other occupations in those times. The testimony as to the seaworthiness of of the skiffs and the relationship between the men and their craft is summed up by George Buck as follows:

….when boarding ships at night during dirty weather, we were always glad when we had the punt back on board. In the daytime we took little notice of the weather and it had to be very bad when we could not board and it was not very often we had to run for shelter. The skiffs were fine craft and in bad weather would heave-to with the fore sheet to windward and the helm lashed a little down and they would work to windward off a lee shore.

Off Duty

The pilots relationship with their skiffs contnued even when they were off duty and racing “Reviews” were held at each port and were enthusiastically supported by the local community. Occasionally the skiffs raced against professional sailing yachts and frequently beat them especially in windy conditions. When on service, speeds of 10 knots were frequently achieved and this speed was often exceeded during racing when the additional sails were set.

Off duty racing.

Ilfracombe was the popular holiday resort for the Bristol Channel and the flat firm sands provided a good place for repairs and sprucing up of the skiffs. The pilots andf crew’s families would be lodged ashore in boarding houses and carnivals and other entertainments were enjoyed by all.

The 21st Century

The remarkable sea keeping qualities of the Bristol Channel skiffs and cutters has ensured their survival, with many original craft having been fully restored and maintained. Although during the latter half of the 20th Century the advent of fibre glass cruising and racing yachts somewhat eclipsed these wonderful craft, in recent years there has been a revival of interest and as well as restorations, lines are being taken from original hulls for new builds. In particular they are increasingly popular for the charter market. In ocean races they continue to win trophies when competing against modern yachts and since 2006 an annual pilot cutter “Review” has been held at St Mawes in Cornwall which is seeing an increase in turnout, despite the economic downturn. Meanwhile the reputation of the design for serious “blue water” cruising remains unsurpassed. Such a legacy is a fitting tribute to those hard working pilots and men who earned their living from these legendary craft.

JCB. With thanks to Peter Stuckey for permission to use extracts from his book.

S.S. William M Clarke: Cutter No4 on inspection day. c. 1937

Photo: Liverpool Pilots’ Archives

John Curry’s article on the retirement of Stuart Wood, Geoff Rafferty and John himself marks both a vintage year at Liverpool and nothing less than the end of an era in pilotage, quite possibly throughout the entire world.

Their retirement is the retirement of the last three pilots trained to the highest possible standards in a system of sea-keeping, station-keeping pilot-cutters without any assistance from shore-based launches.

Having left school aged sixteen in 1960 as John explains, he, Stuart and Geoff then served as cadets for about one year deep-sea before joining in 1961 a training-system which was then at its zenith (as it had been since its introduction in 1896) and which began a long process of decline in the following year, 1962. The key to the system was the maintenance of four pilot-cutters, three of which were permanently at sea, with one in dock on stand-by. The three at sea operated in a rotation comprised of one week keeping station at the Mersey Bar (16 miles out of Liverpool), one week keeping station off Point Lynas, Anglesey (a further 36 miles to the west) and one week on tender-duty, sailing daily from Liverpool Landing Stage to the two sea-stations in order to keep the stations properly supplied with pilots. The week on tender-duty (or on-the-run, as it was known colloquially) was served during the middle-week of the three-week rotation, the first and third weeks being served at the Bar and Point Lynas respectively.

The system originated in 1896 when the first four steam-driven pilot-cutters were introduced, replacing a fleet of twelve schooners. As the schooners had been manned on deck entirely by apprentices, the replaced apprentices became the deck-crew of each newly-commissioned steamer, regulated at ten apprentices per pilot-cutter. The system was maintained for the next sixty-six years, largely unchanged through two World Wars, although a fifth steamer was commissioned temporarily between 1915 and 1923. The original four steamers were themselves replaced over the years. By 1961 (when our heroes joined the system and found it ats peak) the fleet comprised one steamer dating from 1937 (a veteran of the Spithead Review of that year) and three diesel-electric pilot-cutters built in 1950, 1953 and 1958. All the cutters were built to the highest specifications, the last three having state-of-the-art gravity davits for the boat-work which formed the essential element of their existence. The cutters were commanded by licensed pilots as Senior Master and Second Master on permanent appointment. The Senior Apprentice (aged about 23) was Mate or Chief Officer of the cutter.

In 1962 the ss William M Clarke, Number 4 Cutter dating from 1937, was sold to the Humber and was replaced by two shore-based launches for tender-duty to the Bar station. The service of the Lynas station was maintained by overland transport. There was no longer a sea-keeping cutter on tender-duty.The oldest diesel-electric cutter (Sir Thomas Brocklebank of 1950) was withdrawn in 1974 upon the development of the modern shore-based station at Point Lynas and the later two (Edmund Gardner, Number 2 of 1953 and Arnet Robinson, Number 3 of 1958) survived in service until 1982 – when the Edmund Gardner became the prime exhibit at Merseyside Marime Museum.

John Curry, Stuart Wood and Geoff Rafferty quite possibly have honour of being the last three pilots anywhere in the world to have trained in such a system and to have served as licensed pilots in a major port while still in their early twenties. There remain of course several pilots in service today who experienced the training-system in its twenty-year decline after 1962,  but no others who had the benefit of the training-system at its peak. As a practical method of training pilots for a major port, it had no equal.

SALUTE TO THE FOUR-BOAT MEN

The last of the Four-Boat men.

The last of the men on the Run.

The red and white Flag, the pea-whistle and bag,

All cruising in Westering sun.

Who cruised through the Winter as well,

Through fog and through storm and through ice,

Who cursed and who swore bloody-hell,

Who served and who didn’t think twice.

For such was their chosen vocation.

Apprenticed in sea, ships and ropes.

In Pilotage. Keeping the Station,

In youth, aspiration and hopes:

For trade and for commerce and living,

For family matters and life.

Accepting the crude unforgiving,

To satisfy Nature and wife.

Each man bore the yoke: or he lost it.

In Pilotage, that is the way.

Professional practice would cost it,

No less than it costs it today.

Salute the Four-Boat men of Mersey,

Serving Liverpool all through her prime:

Apprenticed, in Flag-embossed jersey,

Then Licensed in service sublime.

In passing the yoke now to others,

Old men salute youngsters and then,

Acknowledging  youngsters as brothers,

Salute all the old Four-Boat men.

Barrie Youde

“We got off in Vancouver then made the short journey across the straits to Victoria, where the SS Fort Camosun was being built. We stayed in a hotel until we joined the ship on a day-to-day basis before taking up permanent residence aboard.  In June 1942, we loaded a full cargo of timber, stacked up on deck as well as in the holds and, after bunkering in New West Minster, started on the long haul home. It had been a tiring period preparing the ship for sea, so I turned in early to be awakened two hours later by a crunching noise and being rolled out of my bunk when the ship took a 20/30 degree list.  Our ship had been torpedoed just eleven hours out on her maiden voyage.
I quickly threw my bridge coat over my pyjamas, donned a pair of shoes and made my way to my lifeboat station. It was 11pm and very dark because all the lights had gone out. When I arrived at my mustering point I was stunned to see what I can only describe as a heap of firewood where my lifeboat should have been. The torpedo had struck in number two hold, on the port side and what I was looking at was the remains of No. 1 lifeboat, which had been blown clear over the ship to land on my lifeboat. That was the cause of the crunching noise I had heard, because it was directly above my cabin.
Initially, I experienced a weird sensation that the crew had abandoned ship, leaving me alone, but gradually the noise of people filtered through, so I made my way to the starboard boat, situated on the bridge structure. The Captain, Chief Engineer and other crew members had assembled there and the decision to abandon ship had already been made because of the damage sustained. The torpedo had hit on the port side, shifted 50,000 cubic feet of timber which caused a split in the hull on the opposite side and also lifted the decks.
The hole made by the strike was some fifty feet diameter and there was the very real danger of the vessel breaking in half.

We all took up positions in the lifeboat and, after being joined by the remaining boat, pulled away into the dark night. The sea was quite calm and although excited, I didn’t feel we were in any real danger.

Then I saw a flash followed by a thud and a shower of sparks from the ship.  The submarine had surfaced and was attempting to sink our ship by firing shells from its deck gun. I saw another flash, followed by a ripping noise through the air, which was the missile passing close. The submarine was obviously trying to find us and I must admit that I was terrified. The Japanese weren’t noted for their leniency to prisoners – if they took them! The shelling stopped but then the sinister noise of his exhaust could be heard as he cruised around, trying to locate us.

It was truly terrifying and I even toyed with the idea of slipping over the side and hanging on to the boat. The reality is that I would not have lasted long because the water is bitterly cold, the result of an Arctic current sweeping south. So we just sat quiet and prayed.  Eventually, the exhaust note faded and we breathed a sigh of relief. We presumed the submarine had abandoned the search, but a few minutes later it returned.  He had gone up the other side of the ship which had blanketed the sound but was now back sweeping the area for survivors. Once again the noise of his engine faded away and after a short time it was agreed that he had left the scene, so we settled down for the night.

When the two lifeboats had joined up, some observant soul pointed out that the two navy gunners were missing. The Captain asked for two volunteers to go back board to investigate. I instantly put up my hand, and the 3rd officer, Mr Coles, said he would accompany me.

We pulled alongside the stricken ship, climbed aboard and began the search. Mr Coles went to the bridge area whilst I went aft to their cabin. To my amazement I found them both asleep. I woke them and explained what had occurred and that we had abandoned ship but I was told, in fluent Navy language, to “go away”. They had slept through the incident because their cabin was directly opposite the steering flat where the steering engine which pulled the rudder over was located. They had become accustomed to the noise and vibration. Once I had convinced them, it was back to the boat and away into the night. There was no point in rowing around so we just drifted. I tried to sleep but the cold and cramped conditions made it near impossible. The next morning we sent out a distress call on a portable radio operated by a hand driven generator.

A few hours later an American Flying Fortress located us, wagged its wings to indicate he had spotted us then dropped a marker flare. We now knew it was only a matter of time before rescue came and sure enough, in the late afternoon, a Canadian Corvette came over the horizon.

During the night, the Captain had valiantly given his uniform jacket to a crew member called McCarthy, a big Liverpool/Irish stoker. When the torpedo struck, he had dashed up from the engine room clad only in a singlet and jeans. Having been torpedoed before he knew the score. After circling the ship and dropping depth charges, the Corvette came to pick us up and who should be first to board her but our friend McCarthy. The officer on duty saluted him and welcomed “the Captain”  aboard and McCarthy played it up to the hilt returning the officer’s salute whilst the Captain sat in the lifeboat trying to attract the attention of the Navy Officer. However, McCarthy backed off when the Officer said he would take him up to the bridge to meet the Commander.

The ship had to be prepared for towing so a volunteer skeleton crew, including myself were put aboard to set up the towing ropes. Once completed we patched up the hole in the hull using a mattress and some timber from the cargo.  No more could be accomplished so we re-boarded the Corvette which took us back to Victoria from whence we had commenced the voyage. The good people of Victoria made a great fuss over us. We were invited to take our pick of clothes from the shops and we were treated to dinner at the Mayor’s residence and even got to sign the visitor’s book in the town hall.

The ship was towed into dry dock in Esquimo where a huge wooden patch was put over the hole made by the torpedo. I was included in the skeleton crew assigned to take her to Seattle for permanent repairs in the naval dockyard there.

The Torpedo damage. Picture. Veterans Affairs Canada: www.acc-vac.gc.ca/remembers/sub.cfm?source=history/secondwar/atlantic/photohis#a03

The repair took almost two months, during which time we lived in a hotel On completion we took her back to Victoria where, once again, a full cargo of timber was loaded. We then set off for home once more via Guantanamo and New York. The passage was made with only two incidents; an attack on the convoy by a submarine in the Atlantic and a strange happening when we were passing through the North Channel, after the convoy had dispersed.  A German aircraft flew over, dropped one bomb which landed well clear of the ship and simply flew off; probably to a base in occupied Norway”.

The following information is from the history link website. Read the full entry here

SS Fort Camosun:

On June 20, 1942, The new coal-burning freighter SS Fort Camosun was on her maiden voyage from Victoria to England with zinc, lead, plywood, and other raw materials.  Just after midnight, in a position approximately 70 miles SW of Cape Flattery, the Japanese submarine I-25, under the command of Commander Meiji Tagami, launched a torpedo which severely damaged the hull after which the submarine surfaced and fired on the vessel with her deck gun causing further damage. The Officers and crew abandoned ship and were rescued later that day by the RCN corvettes Edmunston and Quesnel. Although the 1-25 had reported the Fort Camosun as sunk she actually remained afloat but semi submerged and disabled. The Edmunston, along with three US tugs took her in tow to Neah Bay for temporary repairs after which she was fully repaired at Seattle and returned to serve throughout the rest of the war, surviving another torpedo attack in the gulf of Aden.

The following information is edited from the Wikipedia entry for the I-25. To read the full wikipedia entry click here

Submarine I-25

The submarine I-25 is of interest because it carried a two-seater Yokosuka E14Y reconnaissance floatplane, known to the Allies as “Glen”. Made in specialist kit form it was stowed in the front of the conning tower and was assembled and disassembled by the crew.

www.subart.net/

On the same voyage as the attack on the SS Fort Camosun, the I-25′s “Glen” shelled a small coastal army installation. Damage was minimal and the only item of significance destroyed was a baseball backstop. However, on 9th September, 1942, the crew again deployed the Glen, which dropped incendiary bombs over the Oregon forest. This was the only time that the United States mainland was bombed from the air and the aim of the raid was to trigger wildfires across the coast. However, light winds, wet weather conditions and two quick acting Fire Lookouts kept the fires under control, indeed, had the winds been sufficiently brisk to stoke widespread forest fires, the lightweight Glen would have been unable to fly.

I-25 was subsequently sunk by US destroyer USS Paterson in 1943

The Dutch tanker Nacia approaches a Bergeson VLCC / OBO. (pilot J. Morrison) These vessels were the largest two vessels to undertake the transfer operation.  Photo E. Ramsay.  The Isle of Arran is visible to starboard.

As many of you are probably aware there have been several proposals tabled during the last few years to permit ship to ship oil transfers at several locations around the UK coast especially for the export of oil cargoes from Russia where the depth of the Baltic precludes the use of large tankers. For many years such operations were occasionally carried out off Lyme Bay but following pressure from local environmentalists, these transfers were suspended voluntarily by the operators several years ago. Whilst the debate continues over the granting of permissions for such operations, retired Clyde pilot Ewan Ramsay sent me some photographs of oil transfer operations that the Clyde pilots undertook in the 1970’s.Although the actual transfer took place at anchor, the two tankers secured to each other whilst underway and in the following account, which may of course be very valuable if such operations are permitted to resume, Ewan explains how the operation was handled by the pilots:

The operation to moor the two tankers together started with the smaller ship making a rendezvous with a tug off Ardrossan and picking up 3 large Yokohama Fenders to place alongside on the port side and two smaller fenders — one over the port bow at the end of the forecastle head and the other on the port quarter.

The 33,000 tonne French Shell tanker Isidora (pilot J Barron) approaches the VLCC Richard Maersk (pilot E. Ramsay).  Photo: E Ramsay

The Pilot on the “small” ship then proceeded towards the VLCC  and Pilot on the VLCC steered a course so that the wind was 10 degrees on the port bow. The larger ship adjusted speed to suit the smaller ships minimum speed ( normally about 5 – 6 knots in the case of a motor ship). The smaller ship then approached from the starboard quarter, usually giving helm orders of port 10- midships- port 5 midships- port 10 –midships and reducing speed until both ships were abreast and in position alongside each other.

Having made contact the helm of the smaller tanker is placed hard to port to secure the bows.  Photo: E Ramsay

Once the fenders touched and with both vessels relatively stopped alongside each other the pilot on the smaller ship put the helm hard to port while the bow was tied up to the other ship. Once the bows were secured together the stern moorings were passed and secured

Once “all fast”, the Pilot on the VLCC took over the Piloting of both ships to the designated anchorage area where the transfer took place. 

Ewan Ramsay on board the Richard Maersk during transfer operations. Photo: E Ramsay’s collection

With respect to other vessels, operations were always undertaken in daylight outside the Cumbrae Heads, where there is plenty of sea room and virtually no crossing traffic so thankfully we never encountered any close quarters situations. 

Ewan Ramsay

Following completion of loading the Dutch tanker Sepia (pilot N Campbell) departs from the Richard Maersk  Photo: E RamsayPhoto captions

The pilot cutter “Protector”

Although not as common as in WW2, there were many civilian deaths in WW1.

People died as a result of Zeppelin raids or naval bombardment; they died from explosions in munitions factories; and they also died serving the war effort in other ways, with the Red Cross, the YMCA, as chaplains, as civilian staff of the Admiralty and as pilots on the river, among others.

River pilots, aboard cutters, were employed to guide ships safely into harbour, and in this capacity they ran the gauntlet of mines laid by the enemy during WW1.

One such was the pilot cutter “Protector”.

“Protector” was built in 1907 by Rennoldson at South Shields on the Tyne.

On New Year’s Eve 1916, “Protector” left the Tyne to escort a vessel inwards; the crew, looking forward to a swift return to celebrate the New Year, never saw 1917.

“Protector” was devastated by a mine in the entrance to the Tyne and was sunk with the loss of all 19 men aboard. The oldest man lost was aged 70 and the youngest was just 16.

All of these men were from Tyneside.

It seems that only one body was recovered: Robert Phillips, Pilot 1^st class, the oldest man on board at the age of 70, is buried in Tynemouth cemetery.

The other men were lost, and are all commemorated on the Tower Hill Memorial.

Here they are, in alphabetical order:

John Swinney BONE

John was a Pilot 1^st class, and he was 36 when he died. He was born in South Shields, the son of Thomas and Ann [Alice?] of 155 Lawson Terrace, South Shields.

In 1901 the family lived in Henry Street. John’s father Thomas was also a pilot, as was his brother Thomas. His brother Robert was a fireman on a tugboat. All the family were born in South Shields.

John is commemorated on the Tower Hill Memorial.

Charles BURN

Charles was a Pilot 1^st Class, and he was 53 when he died. He was born in South Shields, the son of Charles and Catherine of 21 The Lawe, South Shields. His father and four brothers all worked on the pilot vessels. All were born in South Shields.

Charles married Margaret Elliott Wright in 1893 and they lived in Roman Road in 1901 with children Catherine, Margaret, Charles, and Lancelot.

The family later lived at 41 Trajan Avenue in South Shields.

Charles is commemorated on the Tower Hill Memorial.

John Hart BURN

John was a Pilot 2^nd class, and he was 39 when he died. He was born in North Shields, the son of Ralph and Annie of 13 Walker Place, North Shields.

John was one of at least 9 children, some born in North Shields and some in South Shields.

His father Ralph was also a pilot, born South Shields.

John married Charlotte Louise Garred in 1903 and their last known address is 15 Coburg Terrace, South Shields. A daughter Ellen was born in 1912.

John is commemorated on the Tower Hill Memorial.

Robert CHAMBERS

Robert was a Pilot 1^st class, and he was 48 when he died. He was born in South Shields, the son of Robert and Ellen. His father was also a pilot, and in 1881, at the age of 13, young Robert was already a pilot assistant.

Robert married Margaret Ann Bell in 1892 and by 1901 they were living in Baring Street, South Shields with children Robert, Caroline, William and Joseph.

Robert is commemorated on the Tower Hill Memorial.

John Cawthorne CREE

John was a pilot assistant, and he was 19 when he died. He was born in South Shields, the son of John and Elizabeth. His father was also a pilot, born in Jarrow.

In 1901 the family lived at 43 Trajan Avenue in South Shields and John’s last known address was 60 Kensington Road.

John is commemorated on the Tower Hill Memorial.

William Robert FORSTER

William was 1^st engineer, and he was 39 when he died. He was born in North Shields, the son of William and Margaret. His father was a publican in Middle Street, North Shields in 1881.

In 1901, William Robert was serving as an engineer aboard the vessel “T.W.Mould” and was unmarried.

He married Edith Annie Downie in 1908 and the last known address of his wife was 115 Howdon Road in North Shields.

William and Edith had three children: Edith, Kenneth, and Sidney.

William Robert Forster is commemorated on the Tower Hill Memorial.

Thomas HERON

Thomas was a Pilot 1^st class, and he was 42 when he died. He was born in South Shields, the son of Benjamin and Esther. His father and two brothers were also pilots.

In 1901 the family lived in Edith Street in South Shields and the last known address is 114 Baring Street, South Shields.

Thomas is commemorated on the Tower Hill Memorial.

Alexander LESLIE

Alexander was a pilot assistant, and he was 21 when he died. He was born in South Shields, the 5^th of 6 children of Alexander and Mary Ellen nee Waugh. His father was also a pilot.

In 1901 the family lived in Pearson Street in South Shields.

His mother died in 1900 and his father re-married to Elizabeth Jane Robson. His father died in 1912. The last known address for Alexander junior is 10 Keppell Street in South Shields.

Alexander is commemorated on the Tower Hill Memorial.

William LESLIE

William was a pilot assistant, and he was 19 when he died. He was born in South Shields, the son of Robert and Mary [probably nee Layden].

In 1901 the family lived at Lawe Cottages and his father Robert was also a pilot.

The last known address for William is 42 Collingwood Terrace in South Shields.

William is commemorated on the Tower Hill Memorial.

[Alexander and William Leslie do not seem to be brothers, but they may have been cousins.]

James Matthew MACCONNACHIE

James was a fireman, and he was 36 when he died. He was born in South Shields, the son of John and Jane Isabella. His father was a coal miner from Scotland, and in 1901 James was also working in the mines, living in Commercial Road in South Shields.

He married Sarah W. Dixon in 1913 and a son James was born in 1914.

Their last known address is 77 Eldon Street, South Shields.

James is commemorated on the Tower Hill Memorial.

Thomas Haw MARSHALL

Thomas was a Pilot 1^st class, and he was 36 when he died. He was born in South Shields, the son of John and Elizabeth Ann. His father was also a pilot, and in 1901 the family lived in Baring Street, young Thomas employed as a pilot assistant.

He married Elizabeth Ann Miller in 1902 in Tynemouth and they had a son John born 1912 and a daughter Elizabeth born 1915. There were probably other children born earlier.

His widow Elizabeth Ann re-married in 1921 to Arthur Smith, and her last known address is 45 Fairless Street in South Shields.

Thomas is commemorated on the Tower Hill Memorial.

James W. NICHOLSON

James was a steward, and he was 45 when he died. He was born in North Shields, the son of John and Ann. His father John was originally a sail maker, but later worked in a factory, probably due to unemployment.

In 1901, James was also a factory worker living in Union Road in North Shields.

He married Elizabeth Ann Thompson in 1893 and they had a son James and daughters Ann and Isabella.

His last known address is 27 Stormont Street, North Shields.

James is commemorated on the Tower Hill Memorial.

Robert PHILLIPS

Robert was a Pilot 1^st class, and he was 70 when he died. He was born in South Shields, the son of Robert and Catherine. This family produced a long line of pilots; Robert senior, born about 1817, was a pilot, as was his brother Ralph.

Robert junior, born about 1846, married Elizabeth Scott in 1867 and they had at least 8 children including John, William, and Ralph who all became pilots.

By 1891, Robert was living in North Shields with Isabella Henderson described as his housekeeper, but there is no wife Elizabeth, and in 1901 he was living in Vespasian Avenue in South Shields with his “wife” Isabella.

No marriage has been found. Several more children were born.

His last known address is 53 Trajan Avenue, South Shields.

As Robert is buried in Tynemouth [Preston] Cemetery, his appears to have been the only body to be recovered.

Sadly his grandson Ralph was with him on the “Protector”.

Ralph PHILLIPS

Ralph was a pilot assistant, and he was 20 when he died. He was born in North Shields, the son of Ralph and Jane, and the grandson of Robert.

His father Ralph was, of course, a pilot.

In 1891, Ralph senior was a pilot apprentice lodging with the family of Sidney Smith in North Shields. He married Jane Ellen Smith in 1893.

The family were living in Walker Place, North Shields in 1901, and Ralph’s last known address is 14 East George Street, North Shields.

Ralph is commemorated on the Tower Hill Memorial.

Thomas REED

Thomas was the master of the vessel. No age or place of birth is given for Thomas but he was probably born in about 1844 in North Shields.

There is a Thomas Reed, pilot, aged 37 living in Adamson’s Broadway in North Shields in 1881 with a wife Mary and 6 children including Thomas aged 15 [pilot apprentice] and Matthew aged 14.

In 1891 they are at the same address, and in 1901 his son Matthew C. Reed, a pilot, is living in Beacon Street in North Shields.

As Thomas gives his next of kin as M.C.Reed, this is likely to be his family. However we cannot be completely sure; the last known address for M.C.Reed is 19 Toll Square, North Shields.

Thomas is commemorated on the Tower Hill Memorial.

13/04/2010:

Note from Retired Tyne Pilot: John Hart Burn:

The Master-Thomas Reed: It was the practice at the time for those Pilot Assistants (Apprentices) who had obtained the required qualifications to be eligible to be examined for a first licence would be held close to the job so that they might be readily available for examination for that licence should a vacancy become available. They would be offered the job of Master of the steam cutter. Thomas Reed was one such. At a later date such candidates would be examined for the first licence and then if successful be offered the job as Master until a vacancy arose.

Bertram RUMNEY

Bertram was a cabin boy and he was only 16 when he died. He was born in 1901, registered as Bertram Thompson Rumney, in North Shields.

He was the son of William Rumney and Isabella Thompson who married in 1897. William was a coppersmith and the family lived in Dawson Street, North Shields in 1901.

However, in 1891 William was with his parents William and Mary at 27 Burdon Main Row, the last known address for Bertram. William senior was a boat builder.

Bertram is commemorated on the Tower Hill Memorial.

William H TINMOUTH

William was a Pilot 1^st class and he was 41 when he died. He was born in South Shields, the son of Thomas Young Tinmouth and his wife Sarah. His father Thomas was also a pilot, born in South Shields.

William Hopper Tinmouth married Mary Chambers Elliott in 1901 and they were living at 76 Edith Street in the 1901 census. Their last known address is 152 Fort Street in South Shields.

William is commemorated on the Tower Hill Memorial.

Matthew YOUNG

Matthew was a Pilot 1^st class and he was 42 when he died. He was born in South Shields, the son of Matthew and Margaret Young. His father Matthew was also a pilot, born in South Shields.

Matthew [junior] married Jane Taylor Downie in 1896 and by 1901 they were living in Henry Street, South Shields with children Jane and Matthew.

Their last known address is 77 Baring Street.

Matthew is commemorated on the Tower Hill Memorial.

William YOUNG

William was a Pilot 1^st class and he was 47 when he died. He was born in South Shields, the son of Thomas and Isabella nee Robson. Thomas was also a pilot, born in South Shields.

William married Priscilla McKenzie in 1887 in South Shields, and by 1901 they were living at 117 Baring Street in South Shields with six young daughters.

Their last known address is 58 Julian Avenue.

William is commemorated on the Tower Hill Memorial.

It is tempting to think that William Young and Matthew Young are related, especially as the families lived so close to each other, but the censuses give no suggestion that this is the case, and “Young” is a very common name in the area.

Sources;

“British vessels lost at sea 1914-18”

CWGC website

Censuses

GRO

WENDY CUMMIN 2008

Other pictures of the Protector

THE CHARLOTTE KILNER

Many pilots are descended from shipping families but all too often the records are lost over even a couple of generations. Retired Humber pilot David Raddings came across the following record of his family’s ship
owning past and tragedy whilst sorting out the possessions of his father (also a Humber pilot) who died in 2000.

At an early age I knew I had a maritime heritage, a Chappell painting of the ketch Charlotte Kilner surging through rough green seas and white surf off the Eddystone Lighthouse always hung in our lounge for as long as I can remember. The scene is set by a figure stood at the helm, an Ensign flying high and signal flags WKSQ beneath with sails shortened in, ready to make the most of what seems to be of an impending squall, the man is pushing the ship hard in an effort to make a tide at a nearby port or haven. That impression is obviously designed to give any Captain or Owner that extra sense of pride at a time in history when photography could not produce anything of the like. The name on this particular painting, Capt. John William Raddings, has a very special significance.

Surely with those thoughts of pride on her mind, many years later my Grandmother would sit with her shawl around her shoulders knitting grey woollen gloves for her grandchildren in her cosy, well worn, old arm chair with it’s rustic coloured fabric and frayed arm rests that seemed to reflect her many years. Likewise those nine pairs of individually tailored gloves are fondly remembered by her Gchildren, which when finished would be lovingly wrapped in white tissue paper and given for Christmas. During a pre-gift fitting however, she would nostalgically tell us of the days when she used to take her children and join her husband (JWR) to sail to the Channel Islands or other places around the coast. The affection she held for those memories were never far from her mind.

Her son, John, would have been six years old in the summer of 1916 and I suppose he was already being groomed for his future on say a voyage from Hull to Alderney.

Stood between his father and a huge mahogany wheel, his father’s salted, strong, calloused hands supporting his, as they held on steadying their ship to keep her on course, with a seasoned eye of the Captain looking aloft, making sure the wind was kept taut in the sails for best results.

Nearly 40yrs later I would have a similar experience when I had the privilege to be with John, my father, on occasions as he took ships in and out of the docks in Hull. Returning home I would imitate what I had seen using the vice handle for a ships wheel on his grimy, well used work bench, in his equally dusty and dingy garage workshop. Looking out through a dirt encrusted window surrounded by tools and inevitable cobwebs I could dream of imaginary horizons and seascapes, which in reality was his handmade wooden greenhouse at the bottom of the garden, a fine product of his WW2 ingenuity during times of wood rationing & shortages.

Learning the feel for rope, knots and splices, the Turks head, rope mats and eventually bell lanyards by the time I became a teenager, was also part of that grooming, like I know it was his. His skills with rope, canvas, palm and needle were obvious and inevitable if a person embraces the sea life of that era with so much passion. Ships, his life’s work continued until he was well over seventy.

Until one day when it was his time to say farewell and those with the experience of emptying the family home know full well how hard it is. There, in what was my Grandmother’s solid oak writing bureau, were the usual old bills and letters stuffed away for safekeeping. Even the drawers beneath were full to the brim. Although, instead of what might be expected, a tablecloth or two, dining utensils perhaps, there were his hobby accessories: house hold tools, a jumble of parts and pieces of watches and clocks, research books and all the paraphernalia required for their repair. However, it was not just one drawer that contained such equipment, all the drawers were similarly filled. Finally in the bottom drawer, which was practically impossible to open due to its weight, filled to overflowing, were marlin spikes, wooden fids, binding tools, rope, palm & needle, bees wax, thread and canvas, even his prized and well sort after bell lanyards, in fact everything but an anchor, the logical and most plausible reason why the weighted drawer would not open in the first place. Indeed he was a Mariner to the end, a significant family trait.

Continuing the difficult search through my father’s private life, in another cupboard I came across a rather innocuous grubby old cardboard box marked Stork Margarine. In truth it was hardly worth a look, but there had to be a reason for it so inquisitively I did. It revealed a rather tattered brown old school exercise book where my father had written in his practically indecipherable writing the description and workings of a Billy Boy, a ketch named “John” owned or chartered by The Kilners.

The Kilner’s were a glass bottle making company in the 1800s’ that needed supplies of silver sand. This was brought to the factory based in Conisbrough, near Doncaster Yorkshire from Holland with the aid of the Billy Boy that was then Captained by a Benjamin Lake Raddings, that is to say, my father’s grandfather and my GGfather, a fourth generation of sea farers.

However this was not all, a musty smell pervaded from the rest of the contents that included a tattered carbon copying book with over 40 hand-written letters, the originals of course long since gone missing. There were also a lot of fragile papers, brown-stained with age, some of which were in a particularly flimsy condition. Unfolding a large well creased parchment document with the description and details of the vessel Charlotte Kilner: Official Number 67837, No. 3 in 1882 Goole, I realised this was the Official Registration document for the ketch that we had the Chappell painting. Furthermore there were two mortgage documents for the same vessel and another for a ketch named “Princess”.

Even though I vaguely knew of the family history with sailing ships from our Grandmother, my father had also informed me of certain documents he held, but I could hardly believe what I had discovered. In fact his description of the Billy Boy had been the beginnings of an attempt by him to put what he knew on paper, to record the contents of the box. Of course this was before the days of computers with their word processors and memories. I then realised the precious contents of family history had come to me as an inheritance, a story that had to be recorded and stored.

The only other fact known about the “John” at this moment however is that my Great Grandfather had a very good painting of her that was destroyed when his house in Alexandra Rd was bombed during a WW2 air raid. (Intended target probably the railway-bridge or line across Beverley Rd leading to the docks)

In my search to find more I found another painting by John Ward held in the local Ferrens Art Gallery, “Hull from the Humber”, dated 1837, depicting a very industriously looking waterfront of the day with a small sailing ketch prominently in the foreground similar to a Billy Boy off the Victoria Pier that may well be like that of the “John”.

In 1882 the Ketch “John” was replaced when the Kilner family decided to have a vessel built by a Mr Outwin of Goole, the ship being named Charlotte Kilner, a wooden built vessel of 79.1ton L75ft x Bm19ft. For Kilner history see: http://www.lindleyancestry.co.uk/mr_caleb_kilmer.htm

N.B. “Kilner” is incorrectly spelt on the website address where “M” is substituted for an N.

In those days shares in a vessel were allocated to interested parties or investors in the ratio of 64 to 1, and with the Charlotte Kilner it read as follows:

George Kilner 40

Caleb Kilner 16

B L Raddings 8

Total 64shares

Caleb Kilner was the Managing Director of the Company at this time and in 1900, after 18 years of ownership, a decision to sell her off was taken. My Great Grandfather BLR had something in common with Caleb, both were very strict Wesleyan Methodists and so he (BLR) was probably highly regarded as being “sober & true”. Caleb known to be a very honourable person may have influenced the Companies decision when agreeing to sell it to him.

His son (John W) had served as deck hand and able seaman (with his father BLR) since the age of 14 and by this time was aged 21 and had become the mate.

The years between 1900 & 1907 were very important for John W with his hands not just on the ropes, he was now holding the reins alongside his mentor, father Benjamin.

Sometime during this period he had met Elizabeth, falling in love with each other, by 2^nd July 1906 they married in the Prime Methodist Chapel on Holderness Rd. Elizabeth Waller, daughter of a fish merchant had become Mrs Elizabeth Raddings and between 1906 and 1910 had their three children, Ruth, Bessie & John (my father 1910~2000).

Of course during this period it was business as usual as far as sailing and making a living was concerned, indeed a hard business, so much so by the age of 53, in 1907 BLR was ready to retire from the sea, offering the ship and business to son John William for the price of £450. Agreeing to this and, after depositing his life savings of £100, John found he had to mortgage the outstanding balance to the sum of £366.

My father, John (1910~2000), made this account of JW’s & E R’s enterprise in the brown exercise book:

From then 1907 my Father traded to his own account, continually sailing between many coastal ports: Stonehaven [seed potatoes which he took down south], Kikoldy, Grangemouth, Aberdeen, Leith, Crail(?), London, Yarmouth, and a big trade to the Channel Islands [potatoes], mainly Alderney, Gurnsey [with coal], also the south coastal ports of Dartmouth, Parr, Charlestown [China Clay] as well as the Bristol Channel ports and the Irish Ports of Waterford and Wexford, Drogheda, Cork, Arklow and Dundalk, so many ports up and down the coasts of England, Wales and Ireland, although very little to the Clyde area.

Knowing now to be heavily in debt, with a family to support, their last child of three, my father (another John) was born in 1910, Elizabeth & John William (known to many as Jack) set too to work hard and pay off the debt. Considering his life savings at 26/7yrs old had been just £100, by 1909, when the final payment was made, must be a sign of just how hard they worked together.

When the Hull Fishing Industry developed to the extent of surplus, cod from the market was bought and salted by a firm called Waltons on the west end of the dock (St Andrews Dock, Hull), known as the “Cod Farm”. The “Charlotte Kilner” was the first ship loaded with a cargo of Salt Wet Cod and was chartered by Charles H Lowery to take it from Hull to Exeter. How many subsequent cargoes I do not know. The many and varied cargoes she did carry included: Scottish seed potatoes, grain, stone, cement, coal, china clay, scrap iron, and of course silver sand.

JW Raddings on the Charlotte Kilner (leaning on the rail to the right)

Of course trading continued through The Great War, WW1, as indicated, even with the whole family aboard when it was favourable. Then in December 1916 loading stone from Alderney to Grimsby, with the family at home eagerly awaiting their father’s return for Christmas, he wrote a card dated 13/12/1916:

I expect to be sailing about 3 o’clock this afternoon as the wind has just come SW so hope we shall not be long before we are home

Well no more this time best love to all from your loving husband Jack xxxxxxxxx

I am sure Elizabeth and “Jack” had many great friends and business contacts throughout their travels, none more so than the people of Alderney, many who they knew through their Methodist Church connections. Outside the business of sailing the church paid a major part in their lives.

The postcard of the 13/12/1916 from Alderney has a postscript squeezed in at the bottom in a different coloured ink as though he had gone ashore to post the card and to say his fond farewells to their friends and whilst there noticed an important or significant change of wind, so borrowing a pen notified the family by reporting: wind now NW again

As in all cases of sailing, wind was the most important reason for the quality and speed of the voyage……..

Six days later, 19^th December, they had completed what must have been a quick passage to the Humber where they anchored off Grimsby awaiting a tug to tow her up river.

As it was the First World War the Admiralty would not allow a Captain to sail through The Boom (anti submarine boom?) and up river alone. The next day she had a tug alongside waiting for her to get under way. No anchor light was allowed under the Admiralty Wartime blackout regulations. In the dark, with all aboard likely to be in a happy frame of mind after a hard sail, buoyed up by the thought of Christmas at home, the minesweeper “Valmont” steamed in and collided with the Charlotte Kilner. Whilst still at anchor and with the aid no doubt of the stone cargo she was carrying the ship sank in an instant. At any time a disaster such as this must strike like a bolt of lightening, but being nearly Christmas it must have seemed much worse, and if that was not enough, it was a dreadful stroke of irony that it should be an Admiralty vessel involved. Luckily, with a bit of quick thinking, the 4-man crew were saved by the tug.

By all accounts the “Charlotte Kilner” had been kept in pristine condition, after all it was not just the family business but also their leisure, kept more like a yacht than an ordinary working boat. What a calamity it must have been for the whole family. The Charlotte Kilner lost.

Following this accident the Admiralty reviewed lighting arrangements for craft the result being that the displaying of riding lights for vessels at anchor was reinstated. The final blow came however on 28^th December when the Registry of Shipping deemed the Charlotte Kilner a “total loss” (gone forever!).

It had probably been a subdued Christmas, whilst thanking their God for salvation and making the best of it for the children’s sake, it was likely a decision was made to continue and so in the New Year the hunt for another vessel was on.

Having contacts in the business he knew of two ketches that could be available, the “Daisy” owned privately by a Captain Cawthorn and “Princess” owned by Rowbothams, who at the time had its ships chartered by Appointment to the War Office (which, ominously or not, may have meant The Admiralty), both available for a cost of around £1000. The “Daisy” was coasting somewhere and unable to contact Captain Cawthorn it was not known when she would become available, but on the other hand “Princess”, after her return from Guernsey, would be available immediately.

By the end of January 1917, not able to wait for the salvage insurance on the Kilner John W decided to make an offer of £1150 for “Princess”, which of course was “subject to inspection”. Rowbothams who confirmed the vessel was now on passage from Guernsey accepted this offer (Princess was expected to commence loading for return 2^nd January).

When “Princess” did not arrive in Hull for hand-over by the middle of February his letters began to show signs of agitation and stress, because in all honesty he probably had given assurances to his friends, colleagues or business associates that he would be taking ownership of his replacement vessel imminently and would be able to ship and deliver cargoes requested. Whether he was misguided or mislead, this has not or cannot be so far ascertained.

Information in this matter is still being sought in order to complete this part of the history.

Even though it should have been expected perhaps, some more unwelcome news came in the form of a letter from his solicitor informing him the Admiralty had “repudiated liability” in the matter of the sinking of the Charlotte Kilner vs. Valmont.

By the end of February the “Princess” was still below the horizon as it were, Alderney Gas Co. on the other hand sent him a letter of enquiry to which he gave this rather embarrassed reply:

Letter No. 12 in the carbon copy book Tuesday

Feb 27^th 1917

The Alderney Gas Co

Dear Sirs

Yours of the 24^th to hand this morning and you can rely on me to push matters all I can at this end on arrival of Princess but she hasn’t got here up to writing this letter. I can understand The Position you are in and I am in another mans hands at present until he gets here, then it will be different I don’t think I should have been all this time but hope soon to be able to wire you Kindest Regards

Yours Faithfully JW Raddings

PS The Freight ought to be a little more The way things are The ins (insurance?) is so High but will see about that later

On 28th February Rowbothams informed him “Princess” had passed Yarmouth and clearly trying to keep his composure replied.

Letter No. 13 in the carbon copy book. Thursday

Mar 1^st 1917

Rowbothams & Sons

Dear Sirs

I am duly in receipt of your letter of yesterday & Pleased to hear that The Princess Passed Yarmouth And up to Time of writing she has not arrived but we have had very little wind since yesterday no doubt she will be here tomorrow.

It will not be necessary To Put Vessel in Dry dock as there is a good hard here available.

Yours Faithfully JW Raddings

It will be Monday or Tuesday before she has water To The Berth she is for To discharge

John’s reference to “hard”:

I should think he means a sand bank, or place to run the vessel aground so he could inspect the hull without incurring dry dock charges.

In the end “Princess” did not arrive on the berth to discharge until 10^th March, where he discovered to his dismay the Captain aboard had made a prior cargo charter to someone in Guernsey and was bound by agreement to complete. With this knowledge on 11^th March he wrote Alderney Gas informing them of yet another unfortunate delay.

By the 13^th March the sale of “Princess” was complete, but problems were still bogging him down. These can best be explained in another letter he wrote Alderney Gas 14^th March, only three days after his previous letter of the 11^th, the mounting frustrations, disappointment, if not anger very prominent, in fact this is the longest of all his carbon copy letters and reads as follows:

Letter No./pages 26 & 27 Wednesday

14^th March 1917 Gas Co

Dear Sirs

I wired you on Monday that I could not get Princess without fulfilling Guernsey charter I told The owner that he ought to have Told me when I First arranged about her seven weeks ago but he did not know she was Fixed until she got here. The Capt was by the share and did all (h)is own chartering and he had Fixed her for Back again on the 23^rd of Dec last when he Finished discharging at Guernsey with his coals. They tried to get out of it but the merchant would not release The ship at all and me becoming owner had to fullfill charter. I am awfully sorry To disappoint you at The last but you see my Position I couldn’t do other than I did without waiting until she went To Guernsey with these coals, and he might have been another four months in doing that, I have got loaded today and shall get away The end of The week it will Take me until then to get all squared up and when I get to Guernsey I will come over To see you & Messers Lowery will wire you if anything comes along suitable and I shall be at liberty next Time I get here I would Far sooner have come to Alderney than gone to Guernsey I don’t know what you would think when you got my wire but I was helpless. I would not have cared so much if I had known at First, but if I had you would not have been able To get a ship as there has not been any here.

Yours Faithfully J W Raddings

N.B. The Captain “had Fixed her for Back again on the 23^rd of Dec”. At this time14^th March 1917, it was nearly 3 months later!

If that was not enough, other problems arose after he wrote this letter:

Changing over insurance from Rowbothams insurers proved difficult and a minor collision between “Princess” and another vessel BHTN “Mary Annie” whilst under ownership of Rowbothams added to the complications and frustration.

A week later, confirmation of insurance finally arrived on 21^st March enabling him to sail. Putting the embarrassment and loss of face behind him he set sail on Thursday 22^nd March 1917 for Guernsey knowing that on arrival he would be able to find time to visit Alderney Gas Co. to express his sincere apologies for the unforeseen problems and trouble.

At the beginning of April whilst Elizabeth was awaiting notification of her husband’s safe arrival in Guernsey she received the following devastating news:

CUSTOMS AND EXCISE.

MEMORANDOM

Goole 1^st April 1917

From To

Receiver of Wreck Mr J W Raddings

Sir. “Princess”

A small boat has been picked up near the Cockle Light Ship, which apparently belongs to the above.

Application for its delivery should be made to the Receiver of Wreck at Yarmouth.

F. Mon……….(illegible).

Of course the Memorandum was written to the Owner, but with Jack (JW) aboard, Elizabeth obviously shocked with disbelief and confusion wrote to inform and confirm the news with their shipbroker’s at the Sailing ShipMutual Insurance Co. in London, the quality of her handwriting a testament to this nightmare:

Letter No. 37 in the carbon copy book. Tuesday

April 3^rd 1917 L C Sage Secretary Dear Sir

I received a letter from the “Receiver of Wreck” Custom House Great Yarmouth” yesterday the 2^nd inst saying that a boat marked “Princess of Goole” had been picked up at sea near the Cockle Lightship on the 27^th March and taken into Yarmouth. I am naturally very anxious as to the whereabouts of the “Princess” as I have heard nothing from my husband since he sailed, which was the 22^nd March, I thought it best to advise you in these matters.

Yours truly Mrs E Raddings

Another letter/memo this time from H.M. CUSTOMS, YARMOUTH, 7^th APRIL 1917, which may have been sent to solicitors L S Sage & Co that seems to be in response to letter No. 37 before being forwarded to Mrs E Raddings, 681 Holderness Road, Hull and reads:

Dear Madam

With reference to my letter of the 3^rd inst: I have now ascertained that the boat from the “Princess” was found undamaged and full of water up to the gunwale. There was nothing whatever in her and the painter was not broken. There was no wreckage near and no sign of crew. The weather at the time was fine, but it had been a little hazy.

Yours faithfully,

AStewartBrown Receiver of Wreck

And if those immediate worries were not enough in Elizabeth’s troubled mind, there was the ongoing case with the Charlotte Kilner vs. Valmont:

Letter No. 40 Tuesday

April 17^th 1917 L C Sage & Co Dear Sir

Charlotte Kilner & Valmont

Have you heard anything further about this matter from the Admiralty.

Yours Faithfully E Raddings

Indeed sailing was very precarious in those days; the ‘jolly boat’ was the only thing found from the Princess, all aboard had perished. Whether lightening had struck a second time, in the form of a minesweeper or other vessel colliding with her in fog etc., or blown up by a mine, no trace was ever found. The weather does not seem to have been a factor; thanks to the Met Office archives, in 2001 I was able to ascertain the conditions. It was cold with light easterlies at first backing northerly force 5 by the 29^th March 1917.

Without a doubt rescue would have been nearly impossible, no radio, no generator, only a ships compass, oil lamps, an almanac, navigation tables and charts along with the fundamental chartroom tools. Perhaps a pot-bellied stove for warmth, a small galley and a bucket in which to wash. For safety a hand bilge pump somewhere to save the vessel from flooding and of course, the last option, a ‘jolly boat’.

Indeed Radio telephony had only just been invented at the end of the 19^th century. The radio receiver was invented by Marconi between 1895~1901. The RNLI did come into being though on the east coast at Cromer & Great Yarmouth in 1857, but unlikely to have had radio equipment at the time, only relying on visual sightings or telegraph. Therefore, in most cases aboard ship it must have been a case of self-preservation, which John W did as he maintained his vessel to the best standard at Waddingham shipyard Winteringham where repairs were undertaken for the CKilner in 1907 and 1914. However, in addition to personal preferences this may have been a requirement under the Merchant Shipping Act 1876

The Merchant Shipping Act of 1876 certainly introduced the best safety to sailors at the time in the way of the Plimsoll Line.

It is my belief therefore, after inspecting Princess on the “hard” Jack was satisfied with the vessels seaworthiness

N.B. 21^st March, the day John (JWR) set sail, is the Vernal Equinox, the Equinox being a biennial event of the biggest Spring Tides of the year.

Inserting Dr to Routh & Waddingham

Ship & Boat Builders Wintringham

from 1914 if req’d.

In April 1917 a familiar and obviously close friend of the family wrote to Elizabeth, a

Mr A. C Tourgis of Alderney who best sums up the whole picture of those times and the feelings for anyone who knew Jack Raddings (JWR) and his family:

“Les Chevaliers”

Alderney

April 25^th 1917

Dear Mrs Raddings,

Your letter gave us a shock although we were in some measure prepared for it as the Master of the steamer that had put into Cherbourg stated that a boat belonging to “princess” of London had been picked up empty.

I have been thinking that perhaps Capt Raddings & crew may have been picked up by an outward bound ship & they did not bother with the boat which would be quite natural as we have seen a similar thing happen in the case of the Norwegian steamer’s boat off Alderney.

In that I find it hard to reconcile with the above view is that you have no news.

I have had no end of enquiries about Capt Raddings, he had quite a host of friends here & was universally liked as quite apart from the qualities which enabled him to make friends he was above all a man & a thorough British seaman & as one of our Pilots put it no better man on the coast. I am still hoping that some news of him may turn up & the account of the crew of the Barge “Puernia” having been made prisoner by the German Destroyer which raided the Kent Coast last Friday revived the hope the Barge having been abandoned.

We are in God’s hands & living through terrible times, not knowing what will happen next.

Should the worst have happened to Capt Raddings & his crew you & your children will always have consolation knowing that your husband died for his Country.

I feel the loss of a personal friend.

This is a trying time for you & you have all our sympathy. Trusting this finds you as well as circumstances permit & still hoping to hear some news. I remain

Yours sincerely A. C Tourgis

Even after all these troubles my father John (1910~2000) still had a keen interest in going to sea. His mother however, more cautiously, steered him into the Humber Pilot Service thinking her son would be nearer home and may have had a naive notion that Pilotage, which meant climbing up or down rope ladders then jumping off onto a tender whatever the weather conditions as well as guiding ships, was likely to be a less dangerous occupation. After completing his apprenticeship (6yrs) at the age of 21/22 he still had to serve time as a midshipman in a sailing vessel and so in 1931 served in one of the very last merchant sailing vessels available, a topsa’l schooner named “Jane Banks” of Fowey. At this time, contrary to the Rule of the Road Shipping Regulations, “Sail was (definitely) giving way to Steam”!

Could it be that in 1931 circumstances had improved aboard Sailing Vessels?

A vivid memory of his was of a ferocious night with all hands on deck (probably only 4 men) desperately shortening sail to save them and the ship from destruction. This task completed, the desperation was then focused upon saving themselves. No radio, no generator, no life preservation equipment, only the ships hand bilge pump and a ‘jolly boat’.

“All hands to the pumps” is a well-known phrase and until the storm abated it was the only thing left for them to do as the ship floundered head to wind in the huge seas. God was on their side that night as the ship eventually made for a safe haven and port. The reward for saving themselves from oblivion though would be nothing other than the usual, discharging the vessel by hand, with pickaxe, shovel and brush! (Certainly not the popping of champagne bottles on arrival as is the case for the celebrating yachtsmen today!)

Therefore the answer to the fore mentioned question would most certainly be: No.

We all accept sailing has a certain mystique about it and still remains the perception for the romantic no matter which era, but like most hard manual-work of those times, it was also tough if not rather grim.

Who knows, could there be a 5^th Generation somewhere up aloft clinging to the heavenly rigging? If there is he will surely be in good company ………..

With my father now the junior lad and tea boy, it could be he is leading them all astray, enjoying a peg or two and splicing the main brace, as they swing on the anchor recounting their wild stories!!

It is ironic however that in 19 17 there were two parties in Guernsey and Alderney both desperate for a delivery of coal who could not wait, but in the end there was no alternative.

The End

Yours DWR

http://www.knottingley.org/history/genealogy/familytrees/raddings.htm

L – R John Marshall, Eddie Cowell & Alan Purvis

Tyne Pilots Limited also ceased to exist with pilotage being transferred to the pilots of the Port of Tyne Authority. It is impossible to determine when pilotage on the Tyne began but it was a strategic port in Roman times and it is recorded that they engaged Tigris watermen to work their ships on the river – in essence, pilots! The formal establishment of organized
pilotage however is generally credited to Trinity House and it was incorporated in a Royal Charter granted by Henry VIII on 5th October 1536. Initially, the profession was exclusive to Brethren of Trinity House, but
in the mid-1600’s this was amended and the pilots were recruited from the local seagoing community.
The custom of taking only pilots’ sons and relatives as apprentices was recognised by Trinity House, who by Resolution actually required it as a condition of being licensed as a pilot, thus establishing a tradition that
would serve for hundreds of years. In 1865, government legislation transferred the licensing and administration of the pilots from Trinity House to the Tyne Pilotage Commission, but the tradition of pilot
families continued. In 1789, the first purpose-built lifeboat was built and for the next one hundred and
fifty years, the pilots crewed these lifeboats and saved many hundreds of lives. This was not without sacrifice however, as in 1849 twenty pilots were tragically lost when the lifeboat Providence capsized during a rescue. The sea was not the only enemy, as on the last day of 1916, the pilot cutter Protector was mined and sunk with the loss of all nineteen on board It was into this heritage that John Marshall was born on 31st December 1946, and Alan Purvis on 16th March 1948. Both families lived in Trajan Street in South
Shields and when aged 16 both began fouryear Apprenticeships with Tyne Pilotage Authority. At that time, there were some ninety pilots on the Tyne, and the river was still a world centre for shipbuilding and
repairing and the export of coal. This apprenticeship was followed by service in the Merchant Navy; John with Silver Line, and Alan with Common Brothers to gain their Master’s Certificates and thus qualify for entry into the Pilot Service. Returning to the Tyne, John was licensed on 7th May 1976 and Alan on 6th May 1977 and they served for three years as junior pilots before being licensed as First Class.
The national miners’ strike of 1984 had a profound effect on trade in the Port and its self-employed pilots and John and Alan tookoverseas pilotage appointments in the Arabian Gulf. In 1988, government legislation
transferred responsibility for pilotage from the Tyne Pilotage Authority to the Port of Tyne Authority. Twelve of the existing pilots formed the co-operative of Tyne Pilots Limited contracted with the Authority to provide the pilotage service. The Pilot Apprenticeship scheme was abolished in 1968 and pilots were subsequently recruited from the ranks of seagoing officers. In 2001 the Port of Tyne Authority embarked upon a regime to
directly employ its future pilots, and Tyne Pilots Limited were contracted to train and examine new pilots for the Authority, passing on the wealth of knowledge and experience acquired over many generations.
The end of Tyne Pilots Limited also sees the retirement of Pilot Master and former pilot Edward Cowell. Eddie was born on 11th March 1941, also into a pilot family, and upon completion of his pilot apprenticeship, embarked upon a seagoing career with Common Brothers, Stephenson Clarke, North Thames Gas Board, and
Gibson’s of Leith to gain his Certificates of Competency prior to becoming a licensed pilot in 1970. Eddie retired as a pilot in 1998, having served as Chairman of Tyne Pilots Limited from its creation in 1988 until
his retirement but in 1999 he was engaged in an administrative role within the port and his knowledge and advice has been greatly valued by Agents, Port staff and junior pilots alike. During their careers John and Alan witnessed dramatic changes to the Tyne and its trade. Cars, passengers, and the import of coal have replaced shipbuilding, shiprepair and the export of coal! Ships are larger; tugs are fewer but more powerful.
Technology and commercial pressures have combined to expand operational parameters, but it is experience that ultimately dictates the limits. They have had the pleasure of piloting, “almost anything that floats”; from fishing boats to super-tankers, car-carriers, bulk carriers, cruise ships, aircraft carriers, oil rigs, barges, floating drydocks, sailing ships, Royal Yachts, and Crane barges carrying Millennium Bridges!

Together with their former colleagues, John and Alan consider themselves privileged to have followed a career that they enjoyed and to have been part of an historical era. Even today, pilotage is still as much an art as a science and although all pilots occasionally doubt their sanity when climbing up the side of a bulk carrier in a northerly gale, “parking ships” is both challenging and immensely satisfying. To generations of Tyne Pilots, pilotage has not just been a profession it has been more complex than that! It’s been their heritage, their psyche – it’s what they were!
JD Marshall

The pilot gigs of the Isles of Scilly and Cornwall are totally unique six oared open boats which were used to ship pilots onto ships arriving of the South West approaches to the United Kingdom. This feature actually started as a review of a fascinating book that I found in the bookshelf of a holiday let in Cornwall. Titled : “Azook: The Story of the Pilot Gigs of Cornwall and the Isles of Scilly 1666 – 1994”. The book, written in a lively manner by Keith Harris ,not only goes into great detail as to how these craft were built specifically for the role of getting pilots out to ships as fast as possible but also explains how they were also ideally suited for many other roles especially as lifeboats, salvage and for smuggling! Unfortunately, the book is out of print and the publishers: Dyllansow Truran were bought by Tor Mark Press following the death of founder Len Truran some years ago. Tor Mark Press advise me that there are currently no plans to re-publish this important record of these remarkable craft. Fortunately I have been able to contact Keith Harris, who not only gave me permission to use content and diagrams from the book for this article but also provided me with valuable additional information.

To read the original illustrated article: pilotmag.co.uk/userfiles/Pilotmag%20291%20(Autumn%2007).pdf

EDITOR’S NOTE:

I have received some interesting feedback from this feature and I have placed the information at the end of this article. If you have any information / photos that you believe may be of interest to readers of this article please email me via the contact link page.

For up to date information on current gig events visit the Cornish Pilot Gigs website: www.pilotgigs.com

St Mary’s Gig “Slippen” (1830) showing construction detail (Azook)

Early History.

The earliest detailed record of the gig dates from 1666 when gigs from St Mary’s on the Scilly Isles rescued the crew of the Royal Oak which had been wrecked on the Bishop Rock and although there is little other documentation regarding early gigs it is evident that the craft evolved over the centuries into the remarkable craft whose construction and design was perfected in the early 19^th century.

To us today, used as we are to the relative comfort of enclosed and heated cutters (but who still suffer some discomfort in bad weather!), an open rowing boat does seem to be a somewhat masochistic craft for the notoriously rough, wet and windy conditions experienced in the Atlantic off the South West approaches. However, history has proven that although competition in pilotage was frequently disastrous for pilots and pilotage it did result in some of the fastest and most seaworthy craft ever constructed, a fact that is borne out by the remarkable numbers of pilot vessels around the world that have not only been preserved but whose plans are still sought out for replicas in the 21^st century. The fastest and most seaworthy boats got their pilots out to the ships first and so the boat designers and builders were also in competition to produce fast and seaworthy craft. The comfort of the pilot was not an issue because if he didn’t find a ship or beat his rivals to board it, he didn’t get paid. These were tough times, as indeed it still is for those unfortunate enough to have to earn a living under a competitive pilotage regime!

Why an open rowing boat?

With sailing craft becoming faster and being able to sail closer to the wind it does initially seem strange that the Cornish pilots continued to use rowing gigs but with the prevailing winds being South Westerly the fastest route to incoming shipping was directly into the wind so if a boat could be designed to get to windward faster using oarsmen than a sailing craft tacking then the rowing boat’s pilot would get the job. The gigs did carry masts and sails which could be rigged when conditions were favourable but their design was primarily as a pulling boat since without either a deep keel or centreboard they only sail well off the wind. They were also used in different ways for which the design was ideal. For example, some were towed by larger sailing cruising pilot cutters and just used for the pilot transfer and because many of the vessels that were served were coastal traders, the gigs were used to take several pilots at a time on a short pull out to the local boarding ground. Whether by oar or sail the pilots must have frequently arrived on board extremely wet and bedraggled but in those days hardship was a fact of life for most people and it obviously didn’t do them too much harm because many pilots lived to a ripe old age! As for the gigs themselves it would be natural to assume that these were very solid, heavily built craft in order to withstand the rigours of not just the frequently adverse weather but also the potential for impact damage whilst alongside the ship transferring the pilot. Not so, these remarkable craft were built for speed and were therefore constructed from the lightest materials with many of the traditional strengthening features reduced or eliminated altogether!

Gig Layout plan (Keith Harris)

The lightweight design evolved as a result of experience that too rigid a hull was prone to having the seams open up in a seaway and when alongside a ship a certain amount of thwartship flexibility was also necessary to reduce the possibility of cracking due to impact damage. The construction obviously worked well in practice since there are very few recorded incidents of losses and the fact that so many of the early craft still survive bears testimony to the success of the design.

The Peters Family

As previously mentioned, records of the early gigs are scanty but in the early 19^th century a boat builder called William Peters designed a boat that was so efficient that all pilot gigs were subsequently built to that design, either by his descendents or others trained by the Peters family and this design still forms the criteria for the official racing gig specification used today.

William Peters originally established the Peters boat building yard at Polvarth near St. Mawes in 1790 and gained a reputation for building high quality vessels from gigs to schooners. However, at the turn of the century he decided to concentrate solely on gig construction. The reputation of the Peters gigs rapidly gained the attention of the pilotage world and in addition to Cornwall and the Scillies other services ordered them and in 1812 three gigs were ordered for Bassein, in Burma! Of the three gigs ordered, only two were actually despatched to Burma due to lack of space on the ship taking them and the third was subsequently sold to the Newquay pilots who named her the Newquay. The Newquay gained the reputation as being a fast and seaworthy boat and thus established the basic design criteria for future gigs.

*** pic 3 The world’s oldest gig. The “Newquay”, built 1812 (Newquay Rowing Club website)

The Newquay still exists today and is regularly raced by the Newquay Rowing Club and she is believed to be the oldest craft in the world still afloat and being used. Interestingly the other two boats built for Burma were still reported as being in service in 1937 and it is possible that they are also still afloat and working.

The last record of a pilot to be shipped by a gig was Jack Hicks of St. Agnes who was put on board the SS Foremost on December 1938 by the gig Gipsy. Gipsy (or Gypsy as she was subsequently named) was built for St. Agnes pilots in 1858. After World War 2, in common with many gigs, she was left to rot and in 1955was purchased by the Padstow Regatta Committee.

***pic 4 Pilot Jack Hicks. (Azook)

The Gipsy along with another St Agnes gig, the O&M had an interesting history, having been involved in the rescue of passengers and crew of the steamer Castleford that grounded in fog on rocks off St Agnes in 1887. Following the successful rescue of personnel, the Gipsy and O&M returned to salvage the cargo from the ship which included 450 cattle. All 450 cattle were saved and transferred to a small island whilst the salvage was sorted out and a new ship arranged to collect them. During this rescue a bullock’s horn had pierced the hull of the Gipsy which was plugged by a crewman’s sock! When Padstow took delivery of the Gipsy in 1955 they discovered that this hole was still in the planking covered by an original repair patch!

The construction

The early gigs were subject to Government anti smuggling restrictions which limited them to four oarsmen in order that they couldn’t outrun the revenue boats. Four oared boats were obviously inefficient for the pilotage role and in 1829 a group of gig masters successfully petitioned the wonderfully titled Honourable Commissioners of His Majesty King George 1V’s Customs London to repeal the law. Although some pilots and designers felt that an eight oared boat would be ideal, the limit was raised to 6 because no revenue craft would ever be able to catch an 8 oared gig! The “official” pilot gig now used for racing, as classed by the Cornish Pilot Gig Association, is based on Peters’ 1838 gig Treffry which has also survived and again is owned by the Newquay club and is still raced.

Peters’ Treffry is a six oared, clinker built craft constructed from Cornish small leaf elm. The length is 32 feet (9.75m) in length with a 4′ 10″ (1.47m) beam. The thwarts are also lightweight ¾” (19mm) thick and being supported by a central pillar to the keel had a slight upward curve. This was a practical design feature that in addition to tensioning the hull also prevented the thwart from piercing the hull if the boat came alongside slightly heavily. Instead, the thwart would spring upward or, in heavy impacts spring out altogether since they were only lightly secured. The boats are steered by a cox’n using a yoke to the rudder. The depth of the hull from keel to gunwales is around 2 feet (60 cms) and with the crew in place it has a draft of around 12 inches (30cm). The planking is a mere ¼ inch (6mm) thick and this light construction results in a boat which weighs less than 7 cwt ( approx 350 kgs) and thus enables it to be carried / launched by its crew ( six oarsmen plus a cox’n) and also makes it very fast. Gig oars are called “paddles” and when working as pilot boats these were “long and strong” up to 18ft (5.4m) but for racing they are around 14ft (4.2m) and spooned. A good crew can sustain speeds of around 7kts but speeds of nearly 10kts have been recorded over a measured mile with racing crews rowing at 40 strokes per minute. Under sail, speeds of 12kts have been achieved. When looking at the construction plan a question arose in my mind as to where the pilot sat in the gig? Keith Harris has advised me that the pilot wasn’t a passenger who lorded over his sweating crew from the stern but would take an oar himself. It was also not uncommon for some pilots, especially the “hovellers” to share a gig and since they can be easily rowed / sailed by two oarsmen, up to five pilots could share the gig in this manner.

***Pic 5 The gig “Mabel” showing the gig’s sail plan (Keith Harris)

Under sail the rig was very simple consisting of a dipping lug mainsail on an unstayed mast with the halyard on the weather side acting as the stay. The mizzen sail was also usually a dipping lug sail where the clew was attached to an outrigger protruding beyond the stern through a hole in the transom (see diagram).

Salvage

Common legend mentions the Cornish and Scillians as “wreckers” who lured vessels onto the rocky shores in order to make a living from the salvaged cargo. Whilst it is possible that some may have indulged in this dubious practice, the nature of the coastline, the storms, strong tides and currents combined with the difficulties in navigating with accuracy unfortunately resulted in plenty of wrecks occurring without the need to resort to “wrecking” practices. However, there is a local Scillian prayer attributed to the Reverend John Troutbeck from the 1790’s which reveals a somewhat irreverent attitude to wrecks which reads: “We pray Lord, Not that wrecks should happen BUT, that if any wrecks should happen, Thou shalt guide them into the Scilly Isles for the benefit of the inhabitants”! It doesn’t come as too much surprise to learn that the Rev’d Troutbridge was later forced to resign for handling contraband!

Another story recounts an old pilot being asked his opinion as to how the number of wrecks could be reduced. His reply was that if they closed the Lloyd’s signal station on the Lizard Head, Captains’ would give it a wide berth rather than navigating towards it to report their arrival! Regardless of the cause, it was the pilot gigs which usually acted as lifeboats and salvage craft attending these wrecks.

There are over 150 detailed documented cases where gigs were engaged in rescue and salvage operations, usually in appalling conditions and at great risk to the crews. Hundreds more would have been considered routine and gone unreported. In many instances the pilots were able to get vessels in distress clear of danger or to salvage vessels after the crews had been rescued and the conditions had improved.

***Pic 6 a gig engaged in salvage (Azook)

The last rescue by a gig was in 1955 when the gig Sussex, from Bryher In the Scilly Isles, assisted in the rescue of the crew of the Panamanian steamship Mando that had gone aground in thick fog. At that time the Sussex was 69 years old and had not been used for 26 years! She was brought into service for this rescue as a result of her shallow draft and the fact that she didn’t have a propeller to become fouled in the weed around the wreck. Reports from the gig crew state that the hull was sound and she took no water in through the seams. The Sussex has had an interesting and varied career since she was constructed from the salvage proceeds of a ship bearing the same name in 1886. Originally built for the men of Bryher, in addition to pilotage duties, the gig was also used for general purpose work such as ferrying between the islands and in 1929 was used as a wedding barge to transport the bride to Tresco. The boat was also involved in many rescues including that of the “T. W. Lawson” and the “Minihaha“. The Minihaha was carrying a cargo of livestock and the salvage involved tying the horns of the cattle onto the thole pins of the Gig so that they could be rowed ashore.

In 1968 restoration work was undertaken by a boat builder and gig enthusiast, Ralph Bird, who fitted a new keel. Following this restoration in 1969 the Sussex was rowed from Scilly to Penzance in the record time of 9 hours and 17 minutes. In 1971 she was badly damaged in a gale and Ralph Bird brought the wreckage and fully restored the boat which he still owns and occasionally loans out to clubs..

Augustus Smith and the Scilly Pilots

The inhabitants of the Scilly Isles in the early 19^th century suffered much mismanagement by those in charge of the islands but had survived by running what would probably now be referred to as a “black Economy”! A major upheaval to their lives and lifestyle occurred in 1834 when Augustus John Smith, described as a “gentleman from Hertfordshire”, took up the lease of all the Scilly Isles and set about establishing order through organisation, underpinned by rules and regulations. By making himself Justice of the Peace and Chairman of the Council he became known as “Lord of the Isles”. His form of rule by dictatorship initially made him unpopular but he introduced many reforms such as the introduction of compulsory education for children (the boys studied navigation and the girls net making) which eventually led to successfully raising the living standards of the population. One of his interests was pilots and pilotage.

The history of the Isles of Scilly pilotage is interesting since the position of the islands resulted in a high demand for pilots in the days of sail with three hundred ships recorded as having visited the islands in one day in the early 1800’s. Until 1808 pilots were chosen by the “Court of Twelve” respected citizens who governed the Islands. In 1808a new law placed pilots and pilotage under the jurisdiction of Trinity House. Unfortunately Trinity House had no comprehension of the Scilly pilotage operation and only granted 11 pilot authorisations, all of whom were chosen from St Mary’s. At that time there were 77 working pilots around the islands so it was hardly surprising that riots broke out. Trinity House relented but still only increased the number of authorised pilots to 37!

The predictable outcome was a free for all, whereby pilots continued to work regardless of whether or not they were authorised by Trinity House and the unlicensed pilots became known as “hovellers”. This competition caused disputes and severe hardships for some since the Trinity House pilots had priority and could supersede the hovellers.

Augustus Smith saw the injustice of this illogical system and authorised the unlicensed pilots to continue to work and threatened the Trinity House pilots with eviction from the Islands if they challenged the order. He thus created a fair regime and by the mid 19^th century it is estimated that 200 pilots were working out of the islands under his protection. Indeed, such was his concern for some pilots’ welfare that he left one pilot, James Jenkins of Bryher, £300 in his will for “his great distress caused by trinity House refusing to grant a renewal of licenses”. I propose a toast in his memory!

It is of interest to note here that the only Trinity House Pilotage Certificate to cover the whole of the British Isles was issued to a Scillonian pilot called Captain Ashford.

Smuggling

Since time immemorial anybody who had a boat traditionally engaged in a bit of smuggling and the gig men of SW England were no exception! Whilst the legitimate salvage of cargoes provided valuable additional income for the pilots and boat crews, the temptation to engage in a bit of free trade between salvage and pilot jobs was difficult to resist especially since it was enthusiastically supported by the local community and playing cat and mouse with the revenue men was probably as much a part of the off duty entertainment as the regattas! The gigs were not merely confined to working close to shore, they hunted out ships well into the Atlantic and up the channel. The hardships of rowing and living on an open boat for a couple of days doesn’t seem to have deterred them and this endurance would obviously be more bearable if the crew could engage in a bit of smuggling. Consequently gigs made frequent trips across the channel to France. Naturally not many records of these voyages were made but some detail has emerged from those who were caught and fined. One Scillonian pilot, John Nance, made 25 by 250 mile round trips to Roscoff in Brittany in the gig Bonnet and on one occasion rode out a storm for 30 hours by keeping the gig’s head to wind. Bonnet was built in 1830 and was named after an old lady waved her bonnet at the launch imparting her good luck magic on the boat. It certainly didn’t do any harm since Bonnet is still owned by the St. Mary,s gig club and races regularly. In 2006 she was rowed the 60 miles from St Mary’s to Newquay for a reunion.

***Pic 7 Bonnet arriving in Newquay 2006. Photo: Andrew King (sports.webshots.com)

Gigs as Lifeboats
There are many stories, particularly in the Isles of Scilly, where the Gig has been used in preference to the established lifeboat, due to conditions prevailing at the time. A classic example is the wreck of the “Isabo“, an Italian grain ship that foundered on the Scilly Rock in 1927. Grain, floating around the wreck to a depth of two inches, caused the intakes of the Lifeboat to become clogged, and the Gig “Czar“, was sent in and successfully rescued all the crew.

Racing

During the past 20 years gig racing has been one of the fastest growing sports in Cornwall and most waterfront villages and towns now regularly race one or more gigs. Such has been the popularity of the sport that pilot gig clubs are being formed outside the Cornish boundaries, not just in the UK, but all over the world with clubs now established in France, Holland, Ireland, the Faeroes, USA and Australia. The sport is governed by the Cornish Pilot Gig Association which monitors all racing gigs during the construction phase. Every year in May the population of the Scilly Isles doubles as teams from all over the world congregate in St. Mary’s for the World Pilot Gig Championships and this year saw nearly 2000 rowers and supporters participating in the event. The contest was the biggest yet, with a record 103 gigs lining up for the first men’s race and 95 took part in the ladies’ event.

It is fairly natural to believe that pilot gig racing is a recent leisure event and that in the days when these craft were working, boats that the pilots and crews wouldn’t have had the time or inclination to engage in racing. Nothing could be further from the truth. To quote directly from Azook,

“The life of a the pilot was a dog eat dog existence, the first pilot to get to a ship got the job, inevitably when more than one pilot gig spotted a potential job, a race would ensue in order to get the piloting contract.”

The whole concept of the gig design was to beat the competition in this race to get pilots to ships and it was only natural that when a new gig was delivered it would be raced against the existing boats and this, in turn, progressed the development of the design into the ideal boat for all the conditions likely to be encountered. In addition to this practical need for speed, the competition between the boat crews was such that regattas were organised to formalise the races and records of such regattas go back to the earliest days of the 19^th century. The whole of the local community would be involved and serious money could be won. In the larger ports the prize money was such that boats would come from all around the coast to participate. Gig crews frequently came from the same families and started rowing almost as soon as they could walk. A remarkable account of a unique regatta race at St. Mawes is recorded in the 1887 issue of The Graphic magazine. At the 1887 regatta someone came up with the idea of a race between veterans and boys where the total age difference was 500 years. They actually managed to find crews with an age difference of 501 years with the boys’ crew having a total age of 79 and the veterans with a total age of 580. Two of the veterans were 90 years old! The Graphic recounts the race thus: “ At the firing of a gun the youngsters dashed off and by a little clever steering and frequent spurts managed to round the first mark about a length ahead, but on coming up the straight, the Old Boys steadied down to a long powerful stroke, soon collared them, then drew ahead and were never caught again.” The Graphic also reports that when the veterans were told that their exploits would appear in the magazine they said that “it would be something to talk about when they were old”.

***Pic 8 The 3 oldest gigs (Newquay Rowing Club)

The Newquay Rowing Club owns three of the oldest pilot gigs, namely the Newquay (1812) Dove (1820) and the Treffry (1838). There is a special race dedicated to just these three boats, crewed by the 18 best club rowers and competition is fierce to gain the honour of being chosen as their rew. The trophy is a 7 inch long silver gig which was given to the club in 1922 by Mr. T. A. Reed, a Newquay businessman and great supporter of the Club.

Ladies gig racing.

Nowadays there are almost as many women involved in gig racing as men and again most people would consider female participation in such events as being something that occurred in the late 20^th century. In fact ladies gig racing is almost as old as that of the men having been firmly established in 1830 by a remarkable woman called Ann Glanville, who contemporary records describe as “longshorewoman and oarswoman extrordinaire”. Born in 1796 Ann Glanville was part of a large family of “riversiders” from Saltash on the Cornish side of the river Tamar and would have grown up with boats on the river. There are records of women’s races from early in the 19^th century and one account states that “Women’s racing in Plymouth Regattas moved from being an object of mirth in 1831 to becoming the chief attraction in 1841. Saltash women led this change and Ann Glanville led these women”.

***Pic 9 Ann Glanville

These women’s’ races were not just novelty events because again serious money was at stake and in 1834 Ann Glanville’s crew won £20, a considerable fortune at that time. Amongst the crew was one of Ann’s daughters since by this time she had 14 children! Two of her sons are recorded as being big men who apparently used their power and skills in naval boat races for wagers that sometimes totalled hundreds of pounds. After the publicity gained by her wins at Plymouth, Ann and her crew, known as the “Saltash Amazons”, became early celebrities and toured Britain and Europe as professional sportswomen at events organised by entertainment promoters. However, their fame was not shallow since they trained hard and when they took on male crews they achieved wins as a result of technique, although they rarely beat experienced watermen accustomed to racing. As well as bringing rowing into the public domain they were early pioneers of women’s rights and having started competitive racing at the age of 27, Ann was still racing at the age of 51. She died in 1880 at the age of 84.

Naturally there is a gig named “Ann Glanville” which was built by Ralph bird in 1989 and is, of course, based at the Caradon pilot gig club at Saltash who were this years men’s and veterans’ world champions.

The latest information

As previously mentioned the world of gig racing is undergoing an explosion in popularity and a very positive aspect of all this is that the building of Cornish gigs is keeping traditional boat building skills alive and order books are full. Should you wish to own one then a new gig with a professional paint finish for racing currently costs around £25,000. A good second hand one will cost around £15,000. I’m actually a bit reluctant to reveal the cost because in my district the pilotage operation is currently being subjected to an “end to end” review and our pilotage manager is looking at new pilot boats to replace a couple of the older boats! Whilst the accountants would love the gig concept, perhaps fortunately for us, these gigs wouldn’t conform to modern requirements but as the price of oil rockets, their green credentials may once again make them the ideal boat for the future!

Azook

In conclusion you are no doubt wondering what the title of the book “Azook” stands for?

Apparently it is an old gig term used by the Newquay gigs and when the coxswain of a Newquay gig wants his crew to pull he calls “Hevva” and when he wants them to pull even harder he shouts “Azook”. Is that my pilotage manager I hear shouting?

As mentioned in the introduction, this feature has been based on the book by Keith Harris and most of the photographs and diagrams are from that book. Obviously this is a very abridged version of the original which contains a vast wealth of not just general information but also detailed histories of many of the individual gigs. If by any chance you are lucky enough to come across a copy in a second hand book shop, snap it up, because I’m sure that you will become as engrossed as I was within its pages.

My thanks to Keith Harris, Ann Curnow-Care, Ralph Bird and Mr & Mrs Bellingham for their valuable help in preparing this article.

“Azook: The Story of the Pilot Gigs of Cornwall and the Isles of Scilly 1666 – 1994”.

Originally published by: Dyllansow Truran

Weblink: Cornish Pilot Gig Association :www.cpga.co.uk/

UPDATE

Further to the feature on pilot gigs in the Autumn 2007 issue I have had interesting feedback from both working and retired pilots down on the SW peninsular. It would appear that Cornish pilots are or were actively involved gig rowing racing on a regular basis and were also involved in the renaissance of these craft. There is too much information to place within these pages so I have added the responses to the feature on the website. However. of particular interest is a response from Falmouth pilot, Nicholas Martin, whose father, Peter Martin, is the renowned gig builder based in St Mary’s, Isle of Scilly and who is currently building a gig for a club in Holland. Nicholas’ step mother is the niece of the late Tom Chudleigh, another well known gig builder.

Peter Martin was part of the crew on the 1972 Truro to Roscoff adventure, mentioned in the article, rowing the gig “Campernel” and apparently they got within 10 miles of the French coast but turned back because of concerns regarding the port approach in the bad weather. Apparently several quite large vessels got into difficulties in the gale but none of the Campernel’s crew had any qualms regarding riding out the storm in an open gig!

Nicholas himself was involved in gig rowing and racing from an early age and recounts that “when I was 14 I rowed a 10 mile race with a men’s gig crew against all sorts of equivalents of the Cornish gig. The race was from mainland France to Ile D’Ouessant and should have been cancelled due to very strong winds and high seas but the French pressed ahead. During the race the safety boats were busy attending many casualties with red parachute flares going up all over the place. Needless to say the gig performed well, and apart from shipping some water we made very good time and crossed the line first, way ahead of the nearest competitor, although just completing was a success on its own”.

Although Nicholas had to give up racing when he went to sea, he still owns a rowing boat that was specially built for him by his father and Ralph bird.

Sam Guy (Fowey) is also an old gig hand and has a part share in “Golden Eagle” and provided the following update regarding gigs being used to ship pilots “Jack Hicks was probably the last of the Pilots to board a ship from a gig when they were used as the sole means of boarding however, my brother, Roy Guy boarded Richard Branson’s boat from a gig following his Trans Atlantic Blue Riband success. I believe a Falmouth Pilot boarded a yacht off Falmouth from a gig and I boarded a Square rigger, Endeavour, off Fowey from a gig rowed by a girl crew!!!” It is indeed a small world down in Cornwall!

Finally, retired Liverpool pilot, Jim Delacour-Keir, who retired to Cornwall sent me further information regarding the Scillonian pilots and he also enclosed several old newspaper cuttings covering the gig revival.

Frank Peters watches the arrival of the 3 oldest gigs, racing (and winning) against the young upstart Sussex (1886) which had recently been restored by Ralph Bird.

Credit: Falmouth Packet 18/05/1984

One fascinating cutting from the Falmouth Packet newspaper dated 18^th May 1984 contained photographs of the return of the gigs Newquay (1812), Dove (1820) and Treffry (1838) to the boatyard in St Mawes where they were constructed by william Peters. This was one of the very rare occasions where these historic craft were permitted to leave their home in Newquay and the occasion was in honour of William Peters’ descendent, the (then) 82 year old Frank Peters who was still running the family boat building yard at St Mawes.

FEEDBACK

fROM fALMOUTH PILOT: NICHOLAS MARTIN

I enjoyed reading the article and it is great that these wonderful gigs are getting the recognition they deserve.

My father Peter Martin is a boat builder who lives on St. Mary’s, Isles of Scilly and is frequently commissioned to build pilot gigs for clubs for Scilly and around Cornwall, in fact his latest order is for a club in Holland. Unfortunately Cornish elm is hard to come by and elm is now shipped in from Scotland, Holland and France. Despite being a Falmouth Man my father moved to Scilly when he met my step mother and has since then been very busy. My step mother’s uncle Tom Chudleigh was a well known for building gigs but since his death my father is now the only boat builder on Scilly and has built the largest boat on Scilly for over a 100 years.

I believe that my fathers reputation for being an excellent gig builder stems from the fact that he is a very successful rower and for years was part of a team that has won many county championships. Although the regulations for building a gig are very restricted there are certain tolerances and his knowledge of rowing them certainly gives him an edge.

My father has been involved in numerous trips on gigs further a field than the usual weekend race and as a young man in August 1972 rowed the St. Agnes gig ‘Campernel’ from Truro to Roscoff. Unfortunately the weather worsened and when within five to ten miles of the French coast the skipper of the escort boat felt that the weather had further deteriorated and was concerned with the approach to the port and they turned back. When they arrived in Falmouth they were met by lots of concerned relatives after hearing on the news of several vessels that had met difficulties in the channel due to the poor weather. My father tells me that the performance of the gig is testament to their reputation for seaworthiness. He also reflects that the original coxswain who was a well known man on the Falmouth waterfront a ‘Quay punt man’ for numerous years refused to go as he felt that they were in for a blow but as the it was a beautiful summers day in Falmouth another coxswain was only too willing to go, goes to show that the old sea dogs knew a thing or two.

The ‘Campernel’ was slightly different to other gigs in two ways; she had a wider beam and has places for seven oars instead of six. The bow position on all gigs can be rowed from either side the reason for this is that when under sail to tack or when rowed and needed to turn quick, the bow man could ‘toss’ and would help row the bow around, but as the ‘Campeprnel’ was so much beamier the extra oar would help balance her when rowed off the wind. Unfortunately the ‘Campernel’ is now slowly falling apart in a boat shed in St. Agnes as is not used for racing due to her large beam. She was built with more beam so she could carry boxes of flowers and other cargo between the islands.

During the summer of 1983 he was part of the crew that rowed the ‘Sussex’ from Sennen cove to Scilly and as you already mentioned she has been involved in other long distance rows.

As I child I was brought up with rowing and can remember rowing the ‘Sussex’ and my feet could not even reach the stretcher. I competed in club racing around Falmouth and a season on Scilly and loved any minute of it. It is refreshing to see more youngsters swapping the play station for the sport.

When I was 14 I rowed a 10 mile with the men’s gig crew against all sorts of equivalents of the Cornish gig. The race was from main land France to Ile D’Ouessant and should have been cancelled due to very strong winds and high seas but the French pressed ahead. During the race the safety boats were busy attending many casualties with red parachute flares going up all over the place. Needles to say the gig performed well, and apart from shipping some water we made very good time, we even had the cox’s daughter in the gig as an extra manning the pump. We crossed the line first way ahead of the nearest competitor although just completing was a success on its own. The trip home was cancelled and the few boats that made it over there were shipped across to the main land on the ferry.

Although I do not row gigs anymore (going to sea prevented any commitment to a team) I row a 15 foot boat built by my father and Ralph Bird for pleasure and to help keep me fit. I have two boys and look forward to day they are big enough to take up rowing.

As a pilot in Falmouth I take pride of our seafaring heritage. I am proud that my father builds traditional pilot gigs and although the cutters I am carried around in are warm and dry it is only right that we remember the past

FROM FOWEY PILOT, SAM GUY

Read the original illustrated article atthe following link (Page pilotmag.co.uk/userfiles/Pilotmag%20291%20(Autumn%2007).pdf

It is generally acknowledged that the renaissance of the Cornish Pilot Gigs was driven by the enthusiasm and dedication of one man, boat builder Ralph Bird. After World War 2, many of the surviving pilot gigs, which had served a useful training role during the war, were abandoned and although a few local enthusiasts kept some craft maintained there were no real organised regattas and these historic craft were on the verge of rotting into oblivion. However, in 1981, Ralph, with a handful of other enthusiasts, borrowed a few historic gigs and set up the Truro Three Rivers Race. Within five years, four pilot gig clubs had been formed and as a result of a meeting at Mr Bird’s cottage in 1986, the Cornish Pilot Gig Association was formed two years later in 1988.

The Association agreed from the outset that there should be a standard design for all racing gigs and it was decided that the William Peters 1838 built “Treffry” should be the model for the racing gig and all racing gigs are still strictly built to this design. Indeed to ensure compliance with the construction rules new gigs are inspected three times during construction by a member of the CPGA committee.

Next year will therefore mark the 20th anniversary of the establishment of the CPGA and the sport has never looked stronger with 124 gigs now registered.

As part of my research into the feature on the pilot gigs I managed to contact Ralph who was able to clarify several points on the construction and working of the boats and he told me that, although semi retired, he was currently building a new gig for Pembroke. What he didn’t tell me was that this was actually the last gig that he would build and it was only by chance, that just as I was finalising this issue, that I learned that there had been a major launch celebration for this gig in Newquay on the 6^th October, where this Pembroke gig was named Ralph Bird in his honour. What was even more remarkable was that the CPGA had managed to get all 29 gigs that Ralph has built over the years to Newquay for the celebration. This was no mean feat since some had come from Wales and the Scilly Isles but as Anne Curnow Care, Secretary of the CPGA, says, “that is the wonderful thing about the sport of gig rowing”.

The local priest from Porthgain blessed the Ralph Bird ashore in both Welsh and English before she was carried down to the beach and launched for her first outing on the water

The weather was apparently perfect for the event and hundreds of people enjoyed the event. Ralph, along with some of his colleagues, rowed the boat out for a lap of honour round the harbour and the other crews from the assembled “Bird” fleet tossed their oars in salute and gave Ralph three cheers as he passed the assembled line up.

Afterwards, addressing the crowd Ralph said: “I never thought gig rowing would take off in the way that it did. It has been an honour and a privilege to build the gigs and meet the hundreds of people associated with the sport.