Bridlington Excursion Ships

Simplon - The Passenger Ship Website - www.simplonpc.co.uk Simplon Home - www.simplonpc.co.uk - Simplon facebook - Recent Updates - Search Simplon - Copyright Information - Contact Simplon This website has no connection with any shipping company, cruise line, boat operator or other commercial organisation. There are no postcards for sale on this website

	Bridlington Sailing, Steam & Motor Vessels Each image links to a larger copy which opens in a new window/tab
	This page illustrates the history of Bridlington pleasure boats, a fleet rivalled that of larger Scarborough. I have built up a small collection of Bridlington postcards over many years, but a lack of published information has prevented a web page before now. My first visit to Bridlington was in August 2010 and I found it to be a fascinating place with the superb excursion vessel still running Yorkshire Belle (1) daily in summer. A trip on Yorkshire Belle (1) is highly recommended. I also discovered an excellent new book by Frank Bull detailing the history of these boats titled Bridlington Pleasure Boats (available locally and from amazon.co.uk). The book has made this web page possible. Frank also mentions an earlier book Any More Sailing? by Mike Wilson, which I have not tracked down yet. Mike has also produced a small booklet on the boats available at the interesting Harbour Heritage Museum on the quayside. Bridlington developed as a holiday resort in the 1800s. Paddle steamers ran along the coast from the 1820s and their use as pleasure steamers gained ground from the 1850s, mainly at Bridlington's larger neighbour Scarborough. Small paddle boats were used as trawlers and for towing sailing vessels in and out of Scarborough. The same vessels could be used to carry passengers in the summer. many of these steamers ran trips to Bridlington. In 1866 the impressive steamer Scarborough was built in London for the Gainsborough United Steam Packet Company. She often ran excursions from Scarborough to Whitby and Bridlington on alternate days, giving passengers time in the destination ports. This allowed Scarborough to run additional trips for the benefit of locals in these ports. Her rivals in Bridlington were local sailing cobles, normally used for fishing but which could be used for short trips into the bay in summer. Scarborough was scrapped in 1914. After the war, the Scarborough-based Bilsdale continued to visit Bridlington occasionally until 1934. Bridlington received its own paddle steamer in 1899 when the Hull-based tug Frenchman was based there between May and September each year (apart from the war). She was owned by T.Gray & Co and remained an important part of the local scene until 1927. T.Gray & Co became part of United Towing in 1921, but they continued to send Frenchman. to Bridlington each summer. In winter she returned to towing duties in Hull. Paddle tugs were low draft vessels ideally suited for use as pleasure steamers, but screw tugs had too great a draft for the extreme tidal conditions at ports like Bridlington. Frenchman's replacement Yorkshireman was specifically designed for use at Bridlington having a much lower draft than usual. Her low draft also enabled her to assist vessels stranded on Humber sand banks during winter storms when in use as a tug. Yorkshireman was delivered to United Towing and arrived in Bridlington in May 1928. Sailing cobles continued to compete with the steamers. After World War One, many were converted to motor power since there was a surplus of military engines available. All had been converted by the mid-1930s, initially with petrol engines and later with diesels. The conversions usually retained their mainmasts. Newly built motor cobles dispensed with the mast however. The first larger purpose-built motor boat at Bridlington was the Girl's Own of 1922. She was followed by the Britannia in 1923 and the May Morn in 1925. These were open boats of between 50ft and 60ft and they took a lot of the trade from the smaller pleasure cobles. The first larger sea-going motor pleasure boat was the Princess Marina which arrived in 1935. She had run at Great Yarmouth from 1928 as the first Brit. Her replacement at Yarmouth was the Brit (2) which survives as Coronia (2) at Scarborough. Princess Marina ran at Bridlington until 1948 after which she ran at Whitby and then on the Thames, where she continues today with Thames Rivercruise of Reading, still named Princess Marina . The same year saw the delivery of Royal Jubilee, owned by the operators of Girl's Own and Britannia, a consortium of local fishermen. She was purpose-built locally by Cook, Welton & Gemmell, at Beverley for Crawford & Pockley. Despite being the model for subsequent local deliveries, she remained at Bridlington only until 1938, possibly because she was too slow compared to other Bridlington boats. She became the New Roseland at Falmouth with the St Mawes Steam Tug & Passenger Co. In 1936 the New Royal Sovereign arrived from Southend - possibly because the competition there from the other large boats New Prince of Wales and Southend Britannia was too fierce. The Boys' Own arrived in 1938, again built by Cook, Welton & Gemmell, at Beverley for Crawford & Pockley. The final pre-war vessel to arrive at Bridlington was the first Yorkshire Belle, again from Cook, Welton & Gemmell, Beverley for Crawford & Pockley. Her career was short, sunk by a mine in 1941. New Royal Sovereign also failed to survive the war, destroyed by a bomb in Bridlington harbour in 1940. Following World War Two, the first new arrival was Titlark I from Crosons of Bournemouth in 1946. She ran for one season only for Holiday Camp cruises. She later worked as Okra on the Thames. The following year the Bridlington Queen arrived for the owners of Britannia, R.Ingram. The final two large boats built for Bridlington service arrived in 1948, the Thornwick and Yorkshire Belle (2). Yorkshire Belle (2) is the last large pleasure boat working at Bridlington in 2010, run since 1982 by her current owners, Mr Roy Simpson and Mr Peter Richardson. She operates frequent one hour trips towards Flamborough Head, plus occasional longer trips. Unfortunately due to changes in the application of MCA regulations, trips to Scarborough are no longer permitted. Yorkshire Belle Website: www.yorkshire-belle.co.uk Yorkshire Belle Phone: 07774 193404 or 07950 648838

	Sections on this Page Sailing Vessels Steam Ships Motor Vessels Speed Boats Bridlington Piers Flamborough Head Excursion Boats on this Page Boys' Own (1) - pleasure coble Boys' Own (2) - motor vessel (later Flamborian) Bridlington Queen - motor vessel 1947-1980 Britannia - motor boat 1923-1979 Flamborian - motor vessel 1968-1998 (ex-Boys' Own (2)) Frenchman - paddle tug Girls Own - motor vessel 1922-1938 May Morn - motor boat 1925-1939 Mirage - speed boat New Royal Sovereign - motor vessel 1935-1948 Pirate Ship - motor vessel Princess Marina - motor vessel 1935-1948 Purla - speed boat Royal Jubilee - motor vessel 1935-1938 Scarborough - paddle steamer Sonic - speed boat Thornwick - motor vessel 1935-1938 Titlark - motor vessel 1946 Yorkshireman - screw tug Yorkshire Belle (1) - motor vessel Yorkshire Belle (2) - motor vessel Other Yorkshire Pages Bridlington Page 1 - this page Scarborough Page 1 Scarborough Page 2 Yorkshire Belle - Bridlington Excursions: 1948-	Associated Simplon Pages Cruise Ships Ocean Liners UK Excursion Vessels World Ferry Fleets Simplon Postcards - Home Page Simplon Postcards - Recent Updates - Simplon Postcards facebook page Yorkshire Belle Contacts Website: www.yorkshire-belle.co.uk Phone: 07774 193404 or 07950 648838 References Trip Out Guides - Written and published by G.P.Hamer - editions from 1977 to 2009 Trip Out Guides are available from Geoffrey Hamer, PO Box 485, Southall, UB1 9BH Cruising Monthly - www.cruisingmonthly.com
- Search the Simplon Website

The original Yorkshire Belle (1), built for A & W Crawford, was launched at Messrs Cook, Welton & Gemmell's Beverley shipyard. She arrived in Bridlington on Thursday the 19th May 1938 which was her first time at sea as her trials had been conducted on the River Humber. She was destroyed during the Second World War when she hit a magnetic mine in the Humber and was lost with all hands.

The replacement Yorkshire Belle (2) was built in 1947 also by Cook, Welton & Gemmell, and is registered as No. 793. She weighs 70 tons gross and has a length of over 24 metres, a breadth of nearly 6 metres and a depth of 1.7 metres. With two eight-cylinder Gardner engines each giving 152hp she can carry up to 206 passengers. She is fully licensed with a lounge bar and ladies' saloon that serves light refreshments throughout the cruise. She is equipped with a public commentary system for pointing out items of local interest along Flamborough Head and on most cruises there is live music played and an opportunity to purchase Yorkshire Belle souvenirs. As well as relaxing one-hour cruises to Flamborough Head, there are also special extended cruises to the Bempton Bird Sanctuary offering close-up views of the cliffs, lighthouse and caves.

Yorkshire Belle (2) was bought in 1982 by her current owners, Mr Roy Simpson and Mr Peter Richardson. Before the purchase both men worked in Huddersfield but have now become Board of Trade recognised skippers. Previous Yorkshire Belle (2) skippers have included Mr Jack Pockley who retired in 1972 and Mr Philip Thornton.

Company Website: www.yorkshire-belle.co.uk
Phone: 07774 193404 or 07950 648838