Views of the Barnabas

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 very similar to the Spirit of Mystery, recently sailed to Australia by Pete Goss. A testament to the seaworthiness of these craft.

She was built for Barnabas Thomas by Henry Trevorrow above Porthgwidden beach, St.Ives. She was originally registered on 28th October 1881 as a Class 2 pilchard boat with the number 634 SS. Later 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.

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 bought her from the National Maritime Trust for a £1.

In 1996 a new engine was fitted, Barnabas previously had a 26hp petrol/paraffin engine fitted in 1917. Barnabas is an important part of our national heritage, mentioned in the new Historic Small Ships Register. She is a mackerel driver, so called as the boats were driven by the effect of the tide on their nets. Her 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, often fishing near 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 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. 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.