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The Rosebud went up the south coast and the Thames to Westminster pier
in 1937 with a local protest petition against the potential destruction
of fishermen's homes in a major clearance scheme.John Lambourn and his
gallant team of workers have some six months to get the Ripple
shipshape and ready for the long trip. "We want to get to Westminster"
he declared.
His
44-ft long overall, 15-ton lugger is a unique survivor from the old
hey-day of the "millions of pilchards" era in West Cornwall.
Grandfather
Williams and a few uncles of mine were in the Rosebud crew that set off
on October 20, in what is today recognised as a legendary public
relations coup, and an early example of a battle for the environment.
She
was built in 1894, at St Ives or maybe Newlyn, registered two years
later at St Ives and fished until 1933 under the ownership of the
celebrated Barber family.
Engines were first installed in 1927
when she was lengthened by 10 feet. Mr Lambourn brought her from Penryn
by road for her first time back in Newlyn for nearly 70 years.
For
68 of these she was a houseboat in and around the Fal estuary. His aim
is to make her part of Cornish fishing heritage - and is well on the
way today.
"I keep making predictions about the completion and
keep finding myself wrong with weather problems and the job taking
longer than expected," chuckled Mr Lambourn, 60.
"It will be a month but no more than two months - that is getting close - to get her in the water.
"The
intention is that the Cornish Pirates rugby team will pull the Ripple
from its present site into the water, but we have yet to fix the date."
She is currently under a canopy on harbour commissioners' land adjacent to the Co-Salt store on The Strand.
The
lugger will be pulled about 50 yards to the bottom of Newlyn slip. She
will rest at half-tide in the water and will float off on the rising
sea.
Yet before the launching several tasks have to be finished, including checking all levels and uprights.
There is some fitting out to be done, including pipework, electrics and fuel tanks.
The two Beta Marine engines, each 50hp, are in and will be driving an 18ins three-bladed folding propeller.
The Kubota engines "are really original Japanese modern", remarked the owner.
"These
are in quite a few of our fishing 'toshers' (the mackerel boats that
ply locally) and are from Mount's Bay Engineering," he said.
The
saga of this 21st century venture began in September 2003 when he
bought the lugger, bringing her to Newlyn where he lives, the following
month. His father George Lambourn was a well-known Mousehole artist and
his brother Sam is a leading figure in the fishing industry.
He personally spent many years as a government marine officer in Hong Kong.
The
early weeks with the Ripple were spent erecting the canopy and
platform, preparing the whole site with lighting and obtaining
essential materials to begin the marathon task.
Work began in 2004 and March marked the third anniversary on the project.
"It takes over one's life!" he said.
"You rather hope you don't have to do a certain job - but when you get down to it you have to do anything that is questionable.
"This
has meant new planks right through and most of the frames. There are
still parts of the original boat, some in floors and frames and in the
'dead wood' above the keel."
Hundreds of local schoolchildren
and thousands of local folk and visitors have taken a keen interest in
the progress and in its history.
Mr Lambourn has put in a new
stem and stern, aprons and bow 'knee' (the elbow inside the bow).
During the process the HSB bank placed gold and silver coins for luck
at each end.
To date one coat of tar has been painted on with
two to go. Otherwise the colours are white paint and oiled woodwork.
"Black, white and wood.
"It is quite a challenge to work out how
to do things. I have done quite a lot of research and am very grateful
to the St Ives Museum and to Nick Howell who rescued the sails of the
former Newlyn long-liner Asthore from a skip.
"These were used
as a model for the way the old lugger sails were put together. Ron
Jenkin, whose family had the Asthore, told me she was built in
Porthleven with engines on board.
"It was felt these may not give sufficient power so a set of sails were put in - but these were not used and were kept in store.
"These were beautifully hand-made 'absolutely flat' when laid down, with heavy ropes by today's standards," said Mr Lambourn.
Two masts have to be erected but the timber lies nearby, close to the fish market, ready for cutting.
The heavier foremast will be 47ft high overall, and from 10 to six inches in diameter, with the mizzen mast 51ft tall.
Mr Lambourn believes it will take about a week to prepare each mast.
How much did it all cost?
He said: "Don't ask - it must be thousands.
"A lot of money and work and thought. And I hope it produces a lot of pleasure for a lifetime to come.
"The
aim is to get her to earn her keep. To offer the experience of sail, as
it was 100 years ago and to fish again under the original number SS19.
"This
experience of fishing will be something else to offer, and in the
process I hope we can show something of life as it was, and also raise
the question of the sustainability of fish stocks."
Mr Lambourn
plans to train a crew of three. The lugger will be able to carry 12
passengers. He hopes the concerns of today, of environment and carbon
issues, will be to the forefront. The West Cornwall Lugger Industry
Trust will be playing a major role in this and in marketing.
He
has recently returned from London for the trust, Penzance regeneration
and the Newlyn Fish Industry Forum, after a meeting on the new marine
bill, and spoken to Environment Secretary David Miliband and Fisheries
Minister Ben Bradshaw, on these contemporary topics.
Ahead lies the great dream, of celebrating the Rosebud's 70th anniversary by replicating the voyage to Westminster Pier.
October
is six months away. To call it a 'challenge' would be an
understatement. Ripple's mast may be too high for the final distance
after Tower Bridge. But hopes are high.
Said Mr Lambourn: "We want to get her there. We want to get her right to do her stuff."
Cornwall will watch in awe.
article copyright THE CORNISHMAN
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