February 2009:
Paddle Steamer Model Maker Chris Wood
Chris Wood (pictured above left at the helm of the Fairmile B Poole Belle (2) with Neil “Smiler” Purdy, right) has not only enjoyed two highly successful professional careers simultaneously
January 2009:
Paddle Steamer Pier for Sale
Anyone want to buy a pier? Totland Bay Pier on the Isle of Wight is up for sale. It featured in the auction of Barnard Marcus in London on 8th
December 2008:
Paddle Steamer Ariadne
What could this paddle steamer Ariadne be? And why isn’t this magnificent steamship listed in any of the books about European paddle steamers? Clearly she looks a fine, if slightly
November 2008:
Capt Shippick Suggests
Capt Shippick (pictured on the extreme left in the front row) wrote the letter below to the Bournemouth Times in 1948. I have re-produced it in easier to read type
October 2008:
UK Paddle Steamers Withdrawn 1948, 1958, 1968 & 1978
The immediate post Second World War period was quite a buoyant time for UK paddle steamer operations with services being re-introduced around the country and passengers teeming up the gangways
September 2008:
Paddle Steamer Oddities
At first glance this paddle steamer looks as if it has been attacked by a swarm of gigantic bees which have gone to work transforming it into a floating honeycomb.
August 2008:
Paddle Steamer Sailings from Bournemouth, Swanage and Weymouth August 1960
August 1960 would have provided quite a feast for anyone wishing to take a paddle steamer trip from Bournemouth, Swanage or Weymouth. Cosens and Company was still very much in
July 2008:
Paddle Steamer Entrepreneur Tony McGinnity
It is with great sadness that I report the death of Tony McGinnity, pictured above on the bridge of the Consul in February 1965 with Capt Harry Defrates. Tony went
June 2008:
Swiss Paddle Steamer Stadt Zurich
The Lake Zurich paddle steamer Stadt Zurich arriving at Insel Ufenau. “Full astern!” Who says paddle steamers need big piers to call at? The lovely Escher Wyss engine dating from
May 2008:
My Favourite Thames Captains by John Richardson
Capt R “Bob” Hayman My father was given an introduction to Bob Hayman (as he was known to nearly everyone) and in the early 1930s took me to meet him
April 2008:
Paddle Tug John H Amos Takes to the Air
The paddle tug John H Amos sitting on the number 7 slip at Chatham on the morning of Thursday 27th March 2008 awaiting her big lift onto a barge. Paddle
March 2008:
Paddle Steamer Apprentice and Mate Moran Caplat
A question: What have Herne Bay, Sheerness, Dunkirk, Glyndebourne Festival Opera and the paddle steamers Golden Eagle and Freshwater, all got in common? The answer: Moran Caplat, pictured above pointing
February 2008:
Paddle Steamer Shipyards Then and Now
Shipyards have been in great decline in the UK in the last twenty or so years with cheaper labour rates in places like Poland and elsewhere in the world taking
January 2008:
Lake Lucerne Paddle Steamer Uri
The beautiful paddle steamers (left to right) Schiller, Stadt Luzern, Unterwalden and Gallia slumber in their winter lay up in the shipyard at Lucerne on Sunday 30th December 2007. Their
December 2007:
The Paddle Driven Dartmouth Higher Ferry
Tucked away in Kingswear Castle’s old home port of Dartmouth in Devon a paddler is still in service flapping her way backwards and forwards across the river from early morning
November 2007:
Paddle Steamer Captain Billy Read Retires
Pictured left to right are: Mr C Shears (chief steward), Mr W Palmer (mate), Mr S Goss (chief engineer), Mr R C Bowering (first mate, Capt Read, Mr J Halford
October 2007:
Lake Geneva Paddle Steamer La Suisse
The beautiful Lake Geneva paddle steamer La Suisse is scheduled to be withdrawn at the end of this season for a major rebuild. Built by Sulzer Brothers of Winterthur almost
September 2007:
UK Paddle Steamers Withdrawn 1947, 1957 & 1967
Sixty years ago, 1947 was quite a buoyant year for UK paddle steamers. Although a number had returned from the war in such poor condition that they ended up being
August 2007:
Last Trips of the Bournemouth Queen August 1957
Bournemouth Queen sailing down Southampton Water sometime after the Second World War and before 1954 when she acquired a main mast. There is a nice puff of health giving smoke
July 2007:
Paddle Steamer Trip from Bournemouth in 1947
Sixty summers ago, in 1947, paddle steamer services were beginning to re-establish themselves after the war. The following account, by the journalist Harry Hamilton, gives a fascinating insight into the