Last of the Severn sailing coasters
This is an extract from a fascinating memoir of the days of the sailing coasters in and around the Severn Estuary. Edmund Eglinton, born in… Read More »Last of the Severn sailing coasters
‘Out punt!’: the Bristol pilot’s call
Captain George Buck recollects two night watches, five miles southwest of the Wolf Rock, waiting for an expected ship from Gibraltar. Despite the regulations over… Read More »‘Out punt!’: the Bristol pilot’s call
Smuggling on the Cornish coasts
Tales of Cornish smugglers sit alongside those of notorious highwaymen and outlaws throughout England’s history of crime and punishment. A certain folk hero status may… Read More »Smuggling on the Cornish coasts
OGA60 Rounding Lands End
The OGA60 Round Britain fleet has left Falmouth and Newlyn, heading for South Wales. We hear from several skippers and crew of an early start… Read More »OGA60 Rounding Lands End
OGA60 fleet reach Newlyn
Northerly winds have forced the OGA60 Round Britain Cruise fleet to wait a couple of days before setting off towards Milford Haven. Five boats have… Read More »OGA60 fleet reach Newlyn
Watch the wall my darling while the Gentlemen go by!
Where there are isolated coasts, there has always been smuggling. In this post we bring a couple of smugglers’ tales in poetry and film. Where… Read More »Watch the wall my darling while the Gentlemen go by!
OGA60 fleet continues westward
In this post we hear from ‘Louisa May’, towed in by the RNLI earlier in the week and OGA60 Round Britaiin skippers take advantage of… Read More »OGA60 fleet continues westward
Newsreels of Newlyn, Cornwall: 1937 and 1946
In these two short snippets from the Pathé film archive, we see nine Newlyn fishermen petition the Minister of Health at Westminster and a post-war… Read More »Newsreels of Newlyn, Cornwall: 1937 and 1946
OGA60 Falmouth bound
‘At last, wind behind us!’ is the caption for today’s cover photo. Taken by Nick Ward as he departed Plymouth sailing ‘Swift II’, a 30′… Read More »OGA60 Falmouth bound