New and Neglected Nautical Writing
Ghost ship of Grytviken
The Albert Strange Association (bear with me), in which I am heavily implicated, held its Annual General Meeting in Lincoln a few years ago, and our very engaging guest speaker was Dr Robb Robinson, a maritime historian at the University of Hull. His subject was…
Cruising in Denmark
George Holmes’s illustrated and often hand-written cruise accounts frequently appeared in the pages of the Humber Yawl Club Yearbook, and later in The Yachting Monthly. Here is a cruise he made in Denmark in 1894, and written up a few years later. He and his companion…
Extreme limit of the credible
A correspondent familiar with the first edition of Messing About in Boats wrote to me: a delightful book of real sailing from a man who comes over as being kind, compassionate and considerate. He bought three copies of our new edition as gifts—an example worthy of…
The Yorkshire Coble
Perhaps the most curious craft which is found in use by the fishermen round the coasts of Britain is the Yorkshire coble [writes George Holmes in 1912]. Along with the Sheringham boat—referred to and described in a former number—this type is used for crabbing by the…
New Tilman brochure
We’ve produced a new 32-page brochure describing the Collected Edition of H W Tilman we have co-published with Vertebrate Publishing. It’s almost a book in itself, with articles by Bob Comlay and Tom Cunliffe as well as covers and brief notes for each of the sixteen…
Stranger goings on in Woodbridge
Readers may recall a year or so ago this post on the comings and goings of some beautiful Albert Strange canoe yachts at Woodbridge in Suffolk. Well the Strange population on the East Coast has increased again, by one. I don’t wish to upstage Tally Ho’s 600-mile…
Nancy Blackett meets Arthur Beale
For those in the London area with an interest in the world of Arthur Ransome, a date for your diary is 6.30pm on Thursday 16 November, when Peter Willis, author of our upcoming Good Little Ship, will be speaking on Ransome, his classic tale We Didn’t Mean to Go to…
VIOLA appeal launched
VIOLA, the last surviving pre-World War I Hull steam trawler, has edged a bit closer to home this week, with the launch of her official charity appeal and website. With local Hull West MP Alan Johnson as patron, the campaign seeks to raise the estimated £3 million…
Sauntress in Yachting World
When we published For the Love of Sauntress in 2014, Tom Cunliffe was moved to email: “Dick, how do you keep finding these great writers?” Martin O’Scannall’s beautifully written account of his restoration of, and forty-year love affair with, a lovely 1913-vintage…
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Hole Haven
Despite its unprepossessing name Hole Haven, the creek to the west side of Canvey Island on the lower Thames, is a welcome bolt-hole for those bound up- or downriver needing to get some rest or wait out a tide. It has fulfilled this service since at least the 1890s…
Handy with a toolbox
Martin O’Scannall has enjoyed a love affair of more than forty years with his 1913 gaff cutter Sauntress, beginning with her rebuild and culminating in the glories pictured here. Below is his account of her sojourn in a boatyard at Brentford on the Thames in west…
The Yorkshire Coble
Perhaps the most curious craft which is found in use by the fishermen round the coasts of Britain is the Yorkshire coble [writes George Holmes in 1912]. Along with the Sheringham boat—referred to and described in a former number—this type is used for crabbing by the…
A quiet sense of achievement
Spring 2009: Constance is just back from her first Old Gaffers event, the annual East Coast Race weekend at Brightlingsea, where she mixed it with craft large and small, and attracted much admiration for both her looks and speed, praise which rightly belongs to her…