Phyllis of Barton

      

Phyllis is a Humber sloop, but rigged for sea-going trade on the Humber estuary and up and down the east coast.  She is typical of hundreds of sailing sloops that carried cargoes on those waters.  She is privately owned by two members of the Humber Keel & Sloop Preservation Society, and can often be seen in company with the HKSPS's keel Comrade and sloop Amy Howson.

Photograph by Kate Smith

Built 1907 by Warrens of New Holland for James Barraclough of Barton, Phylllis is 68ft long by 16ft beam and iron construction. She was engined in1943 and stayed with the same owner all her working life until sold off with the rest of the fleet in 1974. After an excursion to Scotland with a new owner she was bought by her present one, towed back to the Humber and is now being restored to her former self as a cutter-rigged Humber sloop of her time.  Full details from http://www.sloopphyllis.com/
   

Phyllis (left) and Amy Howson (right).  The two sloops at their winter moorings at Barton Haven, in March 2010. (The wheelhouse near the stern of Phyllis belongs to another vessel beyond her).  This picture was taken during an exceptionally low tide and shows extensive mudbanks on the Humber.

   
   
   

Syntan of Beverley Beck

     

Syntan is owned by the volunteers of the Beverley Barge Preservation Society.  http://www.syntanbarge.org.uk/

Beverley Beck is an off-shoot of the River Hull, and Syntan may be chartered for trips down to the Humber Estuary, with a crew of 4 and a maximum of 12 passengers.  The trips are tide dependent and last for a maximum of 6 hours.  She operates April to October.

Syntan was built 1949 in Beverley, and was one of a fleet of 16 barges based in that town, owned by Richard Hodgson Tanners.  The fleet carried coal and hides into the tannery, and collected from Hull docks raw materials used for tanning from India, South Africa and Paraguay.  As well as trading between Hull and Beverley, they also carried general cargoes such as grain, flour, paper, and nuts, to South and West Yorkshire.  Therefore, Syntan is a "Sheffield size" barge, 61ft 6ins long, and 15ft 6ins wide.

   
Syntan was bought by the Beverley Barge Preservation Society in 2001 and after years of hard work she has been restored to her original condition, and is once again moored in, and operates from, the town where she was built.

Syntan on her moorings near Beverley minster

 

Entrance to the Black Sluice Navigation at Boston

     
Why boats cannot stay on the pontoon moorings

This picture shows the pontoon moorings in the tidal River Witham at Boston, called The Haven, where boats moor before entering the lock at the entrance to the Black Sluice Navigation (left foreground).  But it shows what the conditions are at low-water, when the mud-banks are plain to see.  Of course, boats will not be (cannot be) sent down from the Grand Sluice Lock at this time of the tide but it adds to crew information to see the image.

In the background, upstream, Boston's fishing fleet is on its moorings.  On the right, the frontage of Boston docks where sea-going coasters are often moored for cargo handling.

Updates - April 2010

  
South Pennine Ring  -  Part 1

Maps 5 and 7.  A new bridge will be constructed at Newbold between Tuesday 8th and Monday 14th June 2010. Between 11.00 am and 4.00 pm on each of those days the canal will be closed to boats. Outside of those hours, passage will be available but there may be delays of up to 30 minutes. Boaters should moor up if necessary and await the direction of the banksman.
 In Failsworth the railway bridge just above Lock 65 (Wrigley Head) will need to have a new bridge deck fitted. Between 10.00 am and 3.00 pm on each of those days the canal will be closed to boats. Outside of those hours, passage will be available but there may be delays of up to 30 minutes. Boaters should moor up if necessary and await the direction of the banksman.
 This bridge is immediately upstream of the section that is kept locked except for booked passages. Boaters heading westwards into Manchester will have passed the railway bridge before the stoppage starts each day. Boats heading east from Manchester will not usually arrive at this point until 2.00 or 3.00 pm so are unlikley to be delayed for too long.

   
Narrowboat on the Trent

Page 13.  Ensure you have an on-board facility to re-charge the batteries of communication systems, either VHF or mobile phones. On the Trent these systems must be permanently available for use.

Pages 26 and 38.  Diesel and Flo Gas are now available above Torksey Lock, seven days a week, but check ahead for availability. 01427 718243 and 07970 936959.  Cash or cards only, no cheques.

Above Torksey Lock, on the Fossdyke

The lock is to the left, the diesel is available at the white sign on the right of this picture.

Lincolnshire Waterways

Pages 8 and 53.  Diesel and Flo Gas now available at Torksey, see above.

Page 53.  The Bardney Heritage Centre, on Map 5, now does B&B as well as Cycle Hire and Cafe (their Friday fish-and-chips is very popular).