Tag: Essex

Frank Carr writing on bawleys

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‘The Leigh bawleys which form  the subject of Mr Mason’s drawing are a type that it is indeed a pity to see vanishing from the Thames Estuary and giving place to a class of modern motor craft, less pleasing in design, where sails are but auxiliary to power.’

Frank Carr describes the history and development of the lovely bawley. Of course, these days I’m sure we’d be happy to preserve examples of the bawley’s successor – no doubt it too was a handsome carvel-built craft, even if Carr found them a little too plain and modern to be interesting.

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Bawleys off the Nore

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Bawley’s off the Nore drawing by Frank Mason

This is the frontispiece from Vanishing Craft: British Coastal Craft in the Last Days of Sail by Frank G G Carr with drawings by Frank Mason.

Published in 1934, the book was written by Carr with the aim of persuading the yachtsmen, curators and scholars of the time to record and record the last small sailing working boats. I don’t know how influential it was, but it stands as a charming and informative piece of work.

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Racing Montagu whalers off Auckland

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Whalers racing off Auckland many years ago; as usual, click
on the thumbnail for a larger image

Reader Paul Mullings has contacted us with this photo of Naval whalers racing off Auckland, New Zealand many years ago. This is what he says about it:

‘The New Zealand forces used to hold a regatta, at the end of which they challenged a team of representatives from the Auckland Yachting Association to a series raced in the whalers.’

It looks like a hoot to me. These boats’ sportiness is evident: no doubt their length and lightness made them fly in a breeze.

In fact, Paul put a comment on one an earlier post on Montagu whalers in which he reminisced about sailing Montagu whalers when he was a boy:

‘Oh the memories – 45 years or so ago I was a Sea Scout in the 6th Leigh Troop headquatered at Leigh-on-Sea in Essex. We had a Montagu whaler at the time and I have ingrained memories of rowing (I think I still have the blisters!) and sailing, what at the time seemed a huge boat. Being long and thin they could really fly under sail in any kind of breeze and I vividly remember storming across the Thames Estuary on more than one occasion bound for the Medway. Happy days!

For more on whalers at intheboatshed.net including one for sale, click here.