My sailing club is introducing a regular film night,  featuring nautical films.   Although I personally am not really into films this strikes me as well worth a try,  and I shall support it.

We already have a list of 10 films to start things off,  and I have suggested a further three.

There are two more that I would like to track down,  but cannot remember either the titles or where one would obtain them;   but I have the impression that both of them came up in conversation on the old Openboat site (on the now-defunct Yahoo Groups).    One is a superb film of one of the last of the Clyde local trading ships,  not sure whether it is one of the Puffers or the next size up,  towards the end of her trading days;   and the other is a superb film of the Cambria,  claimed to be the last Thames Barge trading commercially under sail,  under her owner and captain Bob Roberts.

Can anyone point me in the right direction,  please?

I should clarify that subsequent to the retirement of Cambria I gather that occasional other sailing craft,  both traditional and modern,  have returned to trading under sail;   I don’t know whether any of them are Thames barges,  but I don’t rule out the possibility.   So although Cambria was stated at the time to be the last the practice appears not to have died out altogether;   merely to have come to a stop with Cambria,  and subsequently re-started in a very small way.

Then of course in the fishing rather than the freighting arena,  there are the Falmouth Oyster Dredgers still fishing under sail over the winter months,  and racing (almost as yachts) in the summer;   and they look superb.    The cruising fleet had the pleasure of seeing them as they crossed our course while finishing a race in July this year.

Oliver

• This topic was modified 3 years ago by Oliver Shaw.