Damsel in Distress-Help towards LADY DAPHNE'S future

DAMSEL IN DISTRESS

Like all classy vintage ladies, Lady Daphne is in need of some very expensive spa treatment! She is an Historic Wooden Thames Sailing Barge, one of only a handful remaining today, and the grand old age of 101 years. Nicknamed the Lucky Lady she has a colourful history to tell and more stories to make as she continues her journey.

We were already planning to get her into dry dock in Spring 2025 to have a full check over and freshen up – a challenge in itself, given the enormous cost of this type of treatment and a lack of surplus income to pay for it.

Recent storm damage to the lock gate in Charlestown Harbour meant we had to urgently relocate Lady Daphne to a safer place to avoid damage from the now tidal harbour in Charlestown. This unplanned relocation has left us with additional berthing costs as well as a lack of income from our planned winter events programme. Added to this, we suffered damage to her propshaft, which snapped as we headed to her temporary berth at Penryn.

We are immensely grateful to local venues and supporters of Lady Daphne for helping us continue as many events as possible, and every little bit counts.

However, a combination of a reduction in our income and unforeseen outgoings in the short term, on top of already daunting plans, has driven us to hope that a crowdfunding effort will help rescue Lady Daphne from an uncertain future.

BACKGROUND

Lady Daphne is one of the remaining Thames Barge Sailing vessels from the hey day of maritime cargo transportation of yesteryear. In the peak there were thousands in service, now only around 30 remain.

Our ownership began in 2016, and we have spent around 4 years restoring various sections of her outer hull. This was planned as part of our initial ownership. During our second round of restoration we found ourselves in dry dock in Faversham , Kent and then became stranded by the lockdowns and pandemic chaos. Hull woodwork was subsequently delayed and consequently we found ourselves out of commission for 2 years, with no income towards her future.

During this time we decided to return Lady Daphne to her home port of Charlestown to celebrate her Centenary and revitalise her future. Lady Daphne was established as part of a cargo route from 1923 until 1937 with her first owners, Thomas Watson Shipping. She regularly journeyed to Cornwall from the Thames Estuary carrying mostly building materials to places such as Falmouth, Exeter, Truro, Plymouth. Her return journey saw her loaded with China Clay from the local Ports of Charlestown, Fowey and Par which was bound for the Paper Mills of Aylesford in Kent.

We arrived back in Charlestown in April 2022 and in 2023 embarked on a busy schedule of events. This extended from local shanty groups singing onboard, cinema showings, jazz, open days, craft workshops, pop up art shows, book events and festivals. These events have continued and expanded during 2024. We have built up an amazing group of volunteers, and we rely on these lovely folk to help keep Lady Daphne going.

All the funds we raise from our events have gone to the continuous maintenance and upkeep of Lady Daphne, helping us to stay where we are, and covering the costs of mooring, services, water, electric, insurance etc. Sadly, once all these costs are met there is nothing left in reserve.

THE CHALLENGES

The most pressing need for our Lady is to get her into an appropriate dry dock for some major TLC to her bottom, as well as significant repairs to her prop shaft. In the interim time we also need to survive at another berth outside of Charlestown Harbour with little or no income. Due to the significant damage to the lock gate in Charlestown, the restoration project is probably going to take longer than expected meaning that we are unlikely to be able to return her back into public service as early in 2025 as we hoped.

WHAT WILL THE MONEY BE USED FOR?

1. £40,000 A visit to dry dock for a specialised out of water survey, hull cleaning, inspection, painting and anti-fouling, and repairs to her prop shaft. As a result of the survey we are expecting funds will be needed for significant repairs to the bottom of the hull given recent events.

2. £10,000 Urgent help with the significant additional costs of keeping her berthed somewhere safe until an unspecified date next year.