UK’s oldest cargo-carrying sea-going steamship is towed away for restoration

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SS Robin, the oldest complete steam ship in the world

SS Robin, the oldest complete steam ship in the world

SS Robin, the oldest complete steam ship in the world

Victorian era steam ship SS Robin, the oldest complete steam
ship in the world, is towed away for restoration

The Victorian steam ship SS Robin, said to be the UK’s oldest complete cargo-carrying seagoing steamship and one of only three National Register of Historic Vessels Grade1/Core Collection ships in London – has left her home berth in Canary Wharf on her way to being restored.

The refit and restoration is the culmination of six years’ work for the SS Robin Trust, and has benefited from a £1.9 million loan from Crossrail, the new east-west railway for the capital. The new line is set to open a station near the SS Robin’s regular moorings next year.

“Volunteers and professionals have been working for months to prepare Robin for this complex journey, the first time she has left her home berth for nearly two decades,” said David Kampfner, project director and co-founder of SS Robin Trust.

I commuted daily to work in this part of London for several years and would see the SS Robin from the window of my train each morning – so I’m particularly pleased that her future seems assured.

PS – The SS Robin Trust has put up some new photos and video of her trip to Lowestoft. She’s to be slipped next week.

London Whalers are back

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Rowing a Montague whaler on the London River, with a Thames barge in the background

Rowing on the river with the London Whalers. You can join them –
just follow the weblink below

Dick Wynne has written to say that his restored 1934 Montague whaler is being repainted and will be afloat again in two weeks or so.

Regular readers will recognise Dick from the Albert Strange Association – see the Blogroll to the right of this post. This time, he’s recruiting a group of people to her off the ground (so to speak) in London under oar and sail. She’ll be operating evenings and weekends, given enough interest, so if you’re in London and fancy a little old-fashioned rowing – mixed, no doubt, with some old-fashioned socialising – get in touch via the London Whalers website.

There’s nothing like a little scatology in the early morning

So I was tickled by this post about boat-naming from the way Londoners do it from Messing about in Boats.