The Cornish Maritime Trust.

LAO 40’, LWL 38’ 6”, beam 11’ 6”, draft 6’, tons 11.7

Barnabas is the only survivor from St Ives of the thousand strong fleet of lug rigged seine and drift net fishing boats registered at Cornish ports at the turn of the 19th century.

She is the oldest and largest of The Cornish Maritime Trust’s boats. She was built for Barnabas Thomas by Henry Trevorrow above Porthgwidden beach, St.Ives, in the area known as the Island Wastrel and launched in the traditional way off the beach. She was originally registered on 28th. October 1881as a Class 2 pilchard boat with the number 634 SS. She is first recorded as being of 8 tons, fishing with nets and lines with a crew of five. At a later and as yet unknown stage she was re-registered as a Class 1 mackerel driver and her number switched to SS 634. The number is said to have been chosen as it corresponds to the hymn “Will Your Anchor Hold” in the Methodist hymn book.

Barnabas is known as a dipping lugger because of the way in which the lug sail on her foremast is partly lowered to tack and the whole of the foresail passed around the front of the mast. The sheet (rope) on the new tack is attached to the sail and the lug from which the sail hangs (the size of a telegraph pole) is raised on the appropriate side of the mast. This method means that the foresail sets efficiently on both tacks for faster sailing. (Tacking is the zig-zag course taken when sailing in relation to the direction of the wind.)

Barnabas continued to fish from St Ives until 1954 when she was sold as a yacht. In the 70s she was given to the National Maritime Trust and in 1985 she was restored to her original state thanks to the generosity of Peter Cadbury whose family had her in the 50s. In 1994 the Cornish Maritime Trust was formed from the Cornish Friends of the Maritime Trust, who had been looking after Barnabas, and she was bought from the National Maritime Trust for a nominal £1.

In 1996 an engine was fitted to comply with modern safety requirements although this was not a first for Barnabas as she had previously had a 26hp petrol/paraffin engine fitted in 1917.

Barnabas is recognised as an important part of our national heritage, mentioned in the preamble to the new Historic Small Ships Register, although not included as she is just too small to come within its remit. She is a mackerel driver, so called as the boats were driven by the effect of the tide on their nets. A St Ives mackerel driver’s year began in March, fishing for mackerel, sometimes as far as west of the Isles of Scilly. In mid-summer the catch switched to herring with boats sailing to Ireland and the Isle of Man. The biggest would go to Bowling, near Glasgow, sail through the Bowling Canal to Granton and fish in the North Sea from Berwick, Sunderland, Whitby and Scarborough. Barnabas never went to the North Sea but she did fish from Ireland, going to Howth, near Dublin with her crew of five men and a boy who all slept in the cramped foc’sle.

The drift nets were like a curtain hanging in the water with floats at the top. The fish swam into them and were caught by their gills. As the nets were pulled in and restowed in the net room the fish were shaken out into the hold. The drift nets were made up of sections joined together vertically, their total length extending for up to a mile and a quarter.

The boats left port early in the morning and set all sail with a crew of four or five men and a boy, to get to the fishing grounds by early evening. Both mackerel and herring are nearest to the surface at night so this is when the nets were shot (put out). To recover the net, the footrope, the only connection to the nets, was hauled in over a hand cranked flywheel capstan on the starboard (right) side and flaked down by the boy - and this was the wettest, dirtiest job! Later a steam capstan was used. Once the fish hold was full it was back to port as fast as possible to make the first landing and get the best price for the catch or to make the train for London (or other main town) as this would also give an improved price.

Since belonging to the CMT Barnabas has taken numerous members, parties of schoolchildren and special interest groups on introductory sailing trips up the Fal and in the Carrick Roads. Those aboard have been able to watch or take part in dipping the lug and experiencing the thrill of actually sailing aboard an authentic nineteenth century Cornish lugger. In 2005 the Heritage Lottery Fund awarded the CMT sufficient funding towards her complete restoration to full sailing condition. This ensured that this unique and historically important boat is able to continue to bring delight to all who appreciate the maritime heritage of Cornwall. She is currently in Penzance Wet Dock See our latest news for more.