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National Historic Ships UK acknowledges the financial support of its sponsors
About the Cornish Maritime Trust
The Cornish Maritime Trust is a charity which exists to preserve Cornwall’s maritime heritage by maintaining and sailing working vessels from the days of sail. Run by volunteers, it aims to educate people about Cornwall’s maritime heritage, trains people of all ages in the skills associated with traditional sailing, restoration and maintenance, and shares the enjoyment of sailing historic working boats.
Their patron is Lady Bolitho and they have active community groups in Falmouth, Penzance, Newlyn and Mousehole.
The Trust operates four unique boats:
- Barnabas, 1881 dipping lugger, 40ft
- Ellen, 1882 Gorran Haven crabber, 17ft
- Soft Wing, 1900 Truro River oyster dredger, 24ft
- Silver Stream, 2004-built replica of 1890s dipping lugger, 22ft
About Barnabas
Barnabas is the only survivor from St Ives of the thousand-strong fleet of lug rigged seine and drift net fishing boats registered at Cornish ports at the end of the 19th century. She was built for Barnabas Thomas by Henry Trevorrow above Porthgwidden beach, St.Ives. Barnabas was first registered on 28th October 1881 as a Class 2 pilchard boat, with the number 634 SS. Later, she was re-registered as a Class 1 mackerel driver and her number switched to SS 634. The number is said to have been chosen as it corresponded to the hymn “Will Your Anchor Hold” in the Methodist hymn book used at the time.
Barnabas is known as a dipping lugger denoting the way the lug sail on her foremast is partly lowered to tack, and the foresail and 23ft yard is passed around the front of the mast. The main sheet on the new tack is then attached to the sail. The sail and yard, from which the sail hangs is then raised on the appropriate side of the mast. This method means that the foresail sets efficiently on both tacks for faster sailing. Sailing this rig requires specific skills and well-honed teamwork by a crew of at least five.
Sailing Barnabas
Barnabas is crewed and maintained entirely by volunteers for the benefit of the public. Each year she attends maritime festivals in Britain and France, to celebrate her unique status as the last fishing lugger still sailing that retains her original configuration. She also cruises regularly with members around the Cornish Coast and is a regular visitor to the Isles of Scilly.
Currently based in Newlyn, Barnabas sails more than 300 person-days per year in a busy sailing programme, in which members and the public are educated about Cornwall’s extraordinary maritime heritage and traditional sailing skills. Going to sea also develops relationship-building and personal development benefits and in 2019, the team had a successful season where they sailed to the Morbihan Semaine du Golfe festival, winning the prize for oldest vessel in the festival. They also sailed locally and competed both at Falmouth Classics and Looe lugger regatta, with a cruise to the Isles of Scilly in the autumn and, in between, they sailed locally out of Newlyn and Falmouth.
Community outreach
The Trust are very proud of their community activities: they maintain links with many organisations including the St Ives Jumbo Association, Mounts Bay Lugger Association, the National Maritime Trust, the festivals of Sea Salts and Sail in Mousehole, Looe Lugger Association, Falmouth Classics, the Brest, Morbihan and Douarnenez festivals, the newly established FISH Trust in Newlyn, Turn to Starboard, as well as Newlyn Harbour and Falmouth Harbour Commissioners.
They fundraise through sailings and small events and a recent example of this, was successfully raising funds to install an emergency inflating buoyancy apparatus in Ellen to retain buoyancy in the case of flooding.
Sail cargo
Barnabas was in the news in 2019/20 for transporting some sail cargo on the last leg of its voyage from Portugal and the Caribbean: in November they delayed her winter decommissioning in order to trans-ship cargo from Penzance and take it to consumers in Falmouth. This was not a commercial venture, rather they wanted to raise awareness of the possibilities of sail transport and the benefits of buying sustainably produced and transported produce.
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