Boats of the Humber Estuary

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Humber dusters – click on the image for more

The Humber blobber – click on the image for more

The striking Paull shrimper – click on the image for more

Some intriguing gems this morning from Goole on the Web. I grew up on the southern side of the Humber Estuary, and I’m always interested in the bits of information about the area’s boats that occasionally come my way.

The Goole on the Web folks have put up a series of pages on each of several important boat types, including the Humber duster,  the blobber, the Paull shrimper and the Humber trawler, as well as the better known billyboy, Humber keel and Humber sloop.

I can’t begin to guess why some of them have such intriguingly unfamiliar names!

It seems the area also had crab boats borrowed from Cromer on the Norfolk coast, and of course its own packet boats.

If the Hull-type duster looks familiar, this might be the reason! I gather the maritime museum in Hull has an example of a duster, by the way, but can find no pictures on the web, which seems a shame – I think both the duster and blobber have potential as the basis of modern-day small cruising boats.

PS The musuem at Hull has interesting links to pages and pictures of the ancient Ferriby boats, the Hasholme boat, and the impressive and even older Brigg log boat.

PPS – I’ve just learned that the illustrations that Goole on the Web have put up are likely to be the work of George Holmes, which would make sense. I’ll add more later when I know more, but in the meantime here are some samples of his artistic work from the Albert Strange Association weblog.

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More of Roger Davies’ classic marine paintings

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Roger Davies has been a marine artist for 30-odd years, although he claims it wasn’t a conscious decision – rather, it seems that living in a series of seaports had a powerful influence on his work. Over time, he lived in Newport, London, Belfast and Hull, and became drawn into the history of boats and ships, and those who sailed them. Perhaps unusually, his interest was caught by both the world of wealthy yacht-owners (and the crews, who were often fishermen also) and by the world of working sail.

The foundation of his very detailed work is undoubtedly his almost obsessive research. The atmospheric quality of his paintings probably derives from most of his career being spent as a watercolourist: ‘For a long time, I found I couldn’t develop sharp and precise detail with thick, sticky oil paint, and so I preferred working in watercolours.’ However, he’s now back working in oils, attracted by what he calls the extra ‘oomph’ of the medium. His classic yacht paintings in particular are almost exclusively in oils.

The Big Five
THE BIG FIVE,1926
Named by journalists of the time, The Big Five were a mixed class of superyachts who raced on handicap throughout the mid-1920s. They were:(L to R) White Heather II, Westward, Lulworth, Shamrock, Britannia, and are shown here at the start of a race during Cowes Week 1926.

Lulworth dominated the class during the year, as she had the year before. This painting was commissioned by her owner to be the centrepiece of the newly restored Lulworth’s saloon below:

The Rebirth: Lulworth off Portonvere
THE REBIRTH: LULWORTH OFF PORTOVENERE
After working for over two years on Lulworth commissions, Roger decided to commemorate her restoration himself with this painting of her sea trials in the waters of northern Italy. He was a privileged guest at her regatta debut at the Argentario Sailing Week in June 2006, and says that racing on Lulworth was unforgettable.

Sloop off Hessle Cliff
SLOOP OFF HESSLE CLIFF
A Humber Sloop sailing eastwards past a mill at Hessle on the north bank of the Humber, circa 1920. Hessle Cliff refers to a nearby quarry visible from the river. This the site of the Humber Bridge today.

Sloop approaching the river hull

A SLOOP APPROACHING THE RIVER HULL
A Humber Sloop about to leave the Humber and enter the river Hull. The mate is beginning to work the foresail halyard winch to reduce sail for the journey through the confines of the narrow river. I should explain that the location is given by HMS Southampton in the background. She was a borstal ship moored just to the east of Hull until 1912.

Thames barge in a blow
THAMES BARGE IN A BLOW
Originating in the Thames region, these capable vessels ranged far and wide round Britain, wherever they could find work. They could be sailed by just a man and a boy.

In a Clearing Mist
IN THE CLEARING MIST
Roger’s notes: The painting shows a Humber Sloop and Keel. These later barges were iron or steel hulled, while the earlier ones were wooden. The Sloop, being unladen, shows the typical bluff bow. Her mast is stepped further forward than the Keel’s to accommodate that long boom.

The Big Five and Sloop off Hessle Cliff are sold, but the other four are recent work and still available. These and other paintings and prints by Roger Davies can be seen at Top Pictures, 7 Hepworth Arcade, Silver Street, Hull, HU1 1JU. Go to: http://www.toppictures.co.uk

Roger also undertakes commissions.

A barge with a Viking-style square sail

The Humber keel Comrade is a rare surviving example of a type of craft evolved to work the difficult Humber Estuary, and its tributaries and canals. She was built in 1923, at Warren’s shipyard at New Holland, and was originally named Wanda. At 61ft 6in in length and 15ft 6in in beam, she had a hold capable of carrying over a hundred tons in cargo.

The Humber is very much part of Viking invader territory, and I do wonder how much this unusual square sail may owe to those invaders of more than a thousand years ago.

For more on Comrade and her sister ship Humber sloop Amy Howson,  see http://www.keelsandsloops.org.uk/