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News from 2008
Picton Castle visits Milford Haven
The Tall Ship Picton Castle visited Milford Docks this September, the Picton Castle, star of Sky TVs Tall Ships Chronicles came back to Milford after almost 80 years.
The Picton Castle is a 3 masted barque that now and works out of Lunenburg in Nova Scotia, she is 179ft long and carries 12450 sq ft of sail on her soaring masts.
She has sailed around the world 4 times and is said to be the most travelled Tall Ship afloat today, apart from her modern day fame, our other interest is her historical association with the Port of Milford Haven.
She was originally a Castle class trawler and fished from here before the second world war (1929 to 1930), she was then requisitioned as a minesweeper during the war and helped guard the Thames, she took part in the Dunkirk evacuation and she helped clear the mines surrounding Norway where she is still hailed as “The Liberator of Norway”
Now she is representing the Sail Training Association of America, who have very high regard for her.
This is not a huge tall ship, she is an obvious conversion from her original trawling days, howevershe is beautifully presented and her history and voyages are second to none.
Image courtesy of Pembrokeshire Photography
Celtic Maritime Connections representing Wales at the start of the Tall Ships race in Liverpool
The Tall Ships race is organised by Sail Training International and even though it is a Tall Ships extravaganza, it is all about Sail Training, Youth and Culture.
Whilst it is wonderful to see these huge majestic vessels with their skyscraper masts and the crowds that pour in to see them, this is a very different maritime event to the heritage events we normally see. The Tall Ships races do contain aspects of maritime heritage and they undoubtably attract people but here the focus is Sail Training and young people.
Now the concern that I have with this, is that we dont have sail training here in Wales and the authorities in Wales dont appear to be concerned about that!
I have just come back after meetings with ASTO and the STI and it is generally accepted that where Wales is, there is a large hole and it is Welsh youth that miss out on such an obvious opportunity of learning and experience.
I wont go into the number of white papers that have been produced explaining the advantages of Sail training for young people, suffice to say the skills that it provides can be life changing.
I have it on good authority that Wales was offered to host the end of the Tall Ship race in 2012, the Olympic year. A bid was submitted and was recieved with enthusiasm, however due to the short sighted approach of the Welsh Assembly Governement they withdrew their funding from that bid!
So what would a Tall Ships Race mean to Wales, obviously Tourism and obviously media attraction (like no other, as there is no other spectacle like this) But the real points that are being ignored are, Youth and the Sail Training opportunity we dont have, Maritime Heritage which our elected members appear to ignor and the cultural significances to the entire country.
As you might have guessed the Tall Ships bid was placed by Cardiff City, as this is one of the only ports that can take these ships in these numbers at the moment, unfortunately the Tourism significance is dumbed down by the city as it is an attraction in itself. So it appears that a decision was made on this criteria alone."why have Tall Ships when we can fill the hotels without them?"
Do We In Wales Want to Have the Tall Ships Race here in our country?
Do we in Wales as a Nation support the whole thing that the Tall Ships Races represent?
The only way we can achieve this is by a unilateral approach, it is time our young people had opportunities and it is time we as a nation proudly fly the Tall Ships race flag.
I would be interested in anyones comments and obviously interested in everyones support, come on all you Welsh Mariners, let us all campaign for this Welsh agenda.
Huge and Gracious Tall Ships at Liverpool Wellington Dock
The Tall Ships race Liverpool
Seafair Festival a great success
From the 17th June 2008 Milford Docks proudly hosted Tall Ships, The Jeannie Johnston took her place at the quayside together with the "SquareSail" Barques of Kaskelot and the Earl of Pembroke and in addition on Thursday the 19th June the French schooner La Recouvrance joined them for the weekend.
Through a mixed bag of weather I am pleased to say that, again thanks to South Hook LNG and Milford Haven Port Authority, we succeeded in bringing down over 2000 schoolchildren to visit the ships. Each one taking away their own unique experience, each one a potential Tall Ship sailor and each one enjoying every minute of their visit.
On the quayside we had traditional music, food and events, the Cutty Sark team joined us and put on a wonderful exhibition of traditional crafts in the marquees and the quayside buzzed with life.
All in all it was a huge success regardless of the wind and rain.
Seafair 2008
The Jeannie Johnston
La Recouvrance
Jeannie Johnston to come to Milford Haven
The Jeannie Johnston is deputising for the Dunbrody to come to Milford Docks this June
The Jeannie is a well travelled three masted Barque which has told the Irish emigration story on her travels, whilst she is in Milford she will be supported by the Dunbrody players and once again Pembrokeshire schools are welcome aboard her to experience the emigration and slavery story first hand thanks to the sponsorship of South Hook LNG
Bristol Channel Pilot Cutters at Milford Haven
The Bristol Channel Pilot Cutters Owners association were in Milford for the May 3rd Bank Holiday this year.
Cariad winning the first race
Cariad and Mascotte battling for the pilot's work!
(Photographs coutesy of Mike Crutchley www.pembsphotos.co.uk )
As a first ever 3 day pilot cutter event to be held from Milford Haven there were three Pilot Cutters taking part
Mascotte
Marguerite
Cariad
The Pilot Cutters enjoyed varying weather conditions, close racing and a great deal of enjoyment during their stay at Milford Haven. It was an ideal location with inner harbour racing for heavy weather days and coastal courses for milder condiotions
Welsh Boat Show
The West Wales Maritime Heritage Society will be manning a stand at this second show in Carmarthen over the first May Bank Holiday
Halcyon in Milford Docks
We are pleased to be hosting Halcyon once again in Milford Haven, she is in pristine condition having just come out of Tommy Nielson's yard in Gloucester arriving at Milford via Cowes.
Come down to Milord Docks over the first ten days in May to see this beautiful 95 foot classic gentleman's yacht, for those interested in chartering follow the link
What has 2008 got in store for us?
Here we are in March and the year is begining to take shape and what a busy year it is going to be.
This is of course Seafair year, 2008 marks the second Seafair which is a bienial event and so far over 200 vessels have shown an interest in coming to the Milford Haven waterway.
Seafair is taking place from the 18th to the 25th June, a wednesday to a Wednesday and scheduled to allow travelling time to and from this event and linking nicely to Brest, Belfast and Liverpool.
This year also promises a visit from the widely acclaimed Barque "Picton Castle" a vessel which, in her other life fished out of the port of Milford and which people from all around the area are excited to see. www.picton-castle.com
Another vessel which passes close by and which we have extended our hospitality to, is the Viking Ship Sea Stallion! www.seastallion It would be fantastic if we could entice her to come into the Haven and follow in the footsteps of the Vikings that settled here in Pembrokeshire. watch this space!
Also have planned is a Bristol Channel Pilot Cutter race weekend on the first bank holiday in May. This is being sponsored by the Port Authority and organised by the Bristol Channel Pillot Cutters Owners association and we hope we will have a few Pilot Cutters in to do battle over the weekend. For more details please contact myself in the first instance, Richard James 01646696371.
Meanwhile on land we are working with the South Wales and North Wales Boat Shows and carrying on from 2007 spreading the maritime heritage word and getting people in touch with their maritime identity, after all this is a maritime nation!
The Pembrokeshir Gig association
We are very lucky in Pembrokeshire as we have our own gig, this is a big rowing and sailing vessel based on the Bantry Bay Gigs. It looks like a baby Tall Ship and it is incredibly good fun to use. It gives us in Pembrokeshire an opportunity for youth groups and communities alike to use it to build team spirit and to learn to work together as a team. On
London National Boat Show
The Project was lucky to be invited to be hosted at the London Boat Show by the Classic Boat Magazine, we were pleased to be a part of their stand and we met and talked to many people involved in the Maritime Heritage of the UK.
Again I am not suprised to hear that so many people feel we have lost our maritime identity in this country, it is something we have been discussing for some time, that as a maritime nation we have almost forgotten that heritage.
The Cutty Sark team where also on the same stand, together with Pembrokeshire College MITEC students, showing traditional boat building skills and large scale restoration skills.
The numbers of passing people who stopped to stare and ask questions was unbelievable, which makes you believe that people are interested in our maritime heritage!
Another year, Happy New Year 2008
It is another year with Celtic Maritime Connections and the winter has been a busy one.
CMC went to Southampton Boat Show to visit the HMS Bounty replica and to talk maritime heritage.
HMS Bounty is a beautiful Ship It was built for the movie . The MGM studios commissioned the Bounty's construction in 1960 for Mutiny on the Bounty with Marlon Brando. The Tall Ship Bounty Foundation acquired the ship as a donation from its previous owner, Ted Turner, in 1993. In February of 2001 the H.M.S. Bounty was purchased from the Foundation by the Tall Ship Bounty Organization LLC.
The Tall Ship Bounty Organization LLC is dedicated to keeping the ship sailing and using her as a vehicle for teaching the nearly lost arts of square rigged sailing and seamanship
Also towards the end of last year the Project and I were invited to speak at a North Wales Symposium for Maritime Heritage and Tourism, it was a great honour to speak and we met many new and interesting people there and thanks to their great hospitality during the visit.
