The 143-year-old working boat ‘Barnabas’, sailed into Newlyn Harbour on Saturday, marking the end of her two-month heritage mission to all four Celtic lands.

Volunteer crew from the charity, Cornish Maritime Trust (CMT), which owns the historic wooden boat, moored her up to the Old Quay to the cheers of supporters celebrating the sailors’ feat and the boat’s fine new masts. Having set off from Newlyn 66 days ago, Barnabas returned having accomplished the threefold goals of the Trust for this ambitious voyage: education, preservation and community connection.

Covering 1,400 nautical miles, the adventure created the opportunity for over 40 volunteers to be trained in now-endangered sailing skills, new hand-crafted Douglas Fir masts to be fitted in Ullapool, Scotland, and the Cornish maritime heritage to be shared with sailing communities in all four Celtic nations.

The original idea for the voyage came from Shipwright, Dave Need, who envisioned a way to collect Barnabas’ new masts from Ullapool without ecologically and financially costly road haulage. The notion quickly developed into a full-scale training mission, the Trust’s purpose being not only to maintain its historic boats in sailing condition but also to pass on the expertise to sail them to the next generation.

Barnabas being the only remaining St Ives double-ended dipping lugger still sailing in the world, requiring know-how of handling its ancient lug rig, passed down since the 1880’s, means that without the work of the CMT these skills are now at risk of extinction. 

In total 43 different crew rotated over the two month period. During the six legs, up to eight crew slept on deck or below in the cramped conditions fishermen experienced in the 19th century, and carrying out repairs and maintenance en route. Sharing the cooking below deck, the sailors fuelled up on a range of cuisine, from ‘cuppa soup’ to black pudding butties, fish stew and once, a three course supper of oysters, chicken stew, pavlova.  

Personal hygiene consisted of a dip in the sea or a dowsing by bucket in sea water, with only the occasional, highly prized, hot shower in port. Up to eight crewed the boat at any one time and volunteers spanned seven decades, the youngest being 18 and the oldest 79. The Trust inspires female and younger sailors in greater numbers and was pleased to welcome 13 women and 18 ‘under 30’s’ during the trip. 

All 66 days of the voyage were captured in real time on CMT’s Facebook page with Skippers’ logs giving an ‘armchair’ voyage to a rapidly growing following. Posts included atmospheric visits to iconic Hebridean spots, like Fingal’s Cave, the Isle of Mull and Skye, the Shiant Isles, the Crinnan Canal and other events that crew experienced, like the Isle of Man famous TT motorbike races.  

Followers were also treated to sightings of minke and pilot whales, sea otters, seals, porpoises and stunning footage of pods of dolphins bow riding the historic boat, just as they have done for centuries before. Bird sightings included Atlantic puffins, shags, kittiwakes, shearwaters, fulmars, gillimots, skewers, and a golden eagle, while crew also encountered bats, pigeons and midges on their travels. A highlight of the voyage was a stay on the Island of Tanera Mor, where the crew moored up at the herring fishing quay and were treated to a BBQ banquet.

Be-calmed only for ten hours in the 66 days, fair winds followed the voyage for most of the trip but several passages tested the crew to the limit, including an unexpected Force 6 at night while crossing the Irish Channel, from Caernarfon in Wales to Cork, Ireland, which gave the sailors a unique insight into the harsh working life of their fishing ancestors. Trustee Skippers, Toby Floyer (leg 1), Rob McDowell (legs 2, 3, 6 & 7) and Dave Need (leg 4 & 5) regularly sought local knowledge of tides, currents, hidden dangers and were warmly welcomed by every local community.

On this trip, Barnabas acted like something of a Cornish ambassador, connecting sailing communities in all four Celtic Lands, and harking back to the 19th century when Cornish luggers were regular visitors to ports around the British Isles, following the herring throughout the fishing season.

Highlights of the trip included the first ever Ullapool Lugger Fest where Barnabas joined 20+ wooden boats for presentations, parades of sail and a ceilidh. In Cork, at the Crosshaven Trad Sail Festival, Barnabas won the ‘Blue Nose’ trophy as the most-travelled boat and a similar prize in Ullapool, where the crew were treated to a bottle of local Whiskey.

Music played a key part in connecting the communities with various musicians coming aboard to play, like Mairearad and Mike from A.D.A.M., a bagpiper serenading Barnabas as she left Ullapool and CMT member Jonny Nance hiring the ivories on Tanera Mor for a few sessions. Under sail, St Ives crew member, Nigel Stevens, led the crew with old favourites, such as 'Cornwall My Home’, to keep morale up as they journeyed on the 36 hour non-stop voyage from Cork to the Isles of Scilly.

Keen to share Cornish culture, Barnabas’ cargo included many of the county’s most beloved foods for sharing with fellow mariners along their route. Cork’s Rossmore Oyster Cornish owner Tristan Hugh-Jones, also donated oysters for Crosshaven festival goers. On board Barnabas on her return was a small shipment of single malt whiskey from Scotland’s most sustainable distillery Nc’nean, transported back to Cornwall for Mousehole’s Old Coastguard Hotel.

Having completed the successful living heritage voyage, the CMT is seeking further individual and Corporate Sponsors to fund its vital work in the coming years. Trustees hope the sight of history brought to life and its commitment to train the next generation, will inspire businesses with similar values to come aboard and help sustain Cornwall’s maritime heritage for generations to come. Interested parties should email [email protected] or visit http://cornishmaritimetrust.org/

Internationally renowned, award-winning artist, Vicki Norman, is CMT’s Artist in Residence and is dedicating her year’s residency to capturing life and heritage skills aboard the Trust’s boats and joined in Ullapool to capture her re-masting. Some of her paintings of the Barnabas and the Trust’s other boats are on view at her exhibition at the Old Coastguard Hotel (June 27-July 22) with 10-25% of her sales going to the Trust.

To look back on skippers’ logs, pictures and videos of the voyage, follow the Cornish Maritime Trust’s Facebook page: www.facebook.com/groups/48725168123