Historic ship returns after 120th anniversary trip

Crew members lower the Bessie Ellen's sails in the Hebrides

A traditional West Country trading ship has completed a tour of Britain to mark its 120th anniversary.

The Bessie Ellen returned to Gloucester Docks, Gloucestershire, in the pouring rain on Saturday after six months at sea.

Owner and master Nikki Alford said the highlight of the trip was “all the lovely people who helped sail the ship around the coastline”.

“We’ve seen whales, we’ve seen dolphins, we’ve had storms and rain," she said.

Crew members had a battle to leave the port back in April after a fault to the High Orchard Bridge, which takes traffic over the Gloucestershire and Sharpness canal, meant it could not be raised.

They were forced to remove the ship’s masts and rigging in order to fit under, before reinstalling them on the other side.

The ship's crew were forced to remove its masts to get underway

But she insisted that standing in the rain in good wet weather gear “does the soul good”.

“Coming home up the Bristol Channel was really lovely and moving after such a long journey," Capt Alford added.

The crew faced heavy weather on their journey

Capt Alford said seeing the Bessie Ellen moored in Gloucester Docks against the backdrop of the newly restored warehouses was “like a little step back in time”.

Built in 1904, the vessel is one of the last surviving ketches - a two masted boat - of her era and was built to transport bulk cargo such as clay, peat and salt to ports around the UK and Ireland.

The Bessie Ellen continued to operate as a cargo ship in the UK until 1947, by which point the rise of motorised vessels had made operating a sailing boat financially unviable.

Sold to a Danish owner, it was converted to engine power and carried cargoes of scrap iron well into the 1970s when eventually it was too small to compete with modern vessels.

Ship's dog Bracken was a key memeber of the crew

The Bessie Ellen was saved from the scrap heap when she was bought by Capt Alford in 2000, who oversaw its restoration.

Capt Alford said she, along with ships dog Bracken, would now be spending the winter focusing on repairing the vessel’s hull and re-painting ready for next year.

“(The work) doesn’t really stop much,” she added.