Help keep Challenge steaming!

The Steam Tug Challenge received some fantastic news this week. We have been selected to be one of the National Historic Ships UK operational flagship vessels for 2024!

We will be working with the National Historic Ships to promote their good work and our own throughout the year.

Challenge and her crew have been invited to Dordt in Stoom in the Netherlands later this month and also to Normandy for D-Day 80 next month. This is a massive milestone for Challenge as it is the first time in many years that she will overseas representing UK nautical heritage and preservation as a National Historic Ships flagship.

Our dedicated crew and volunteers have been working tirelessly to get Challenge ready for her adventures, however it takes a considerable amount of money to prepare and run her and we are short of approx £10,000 for the trips. Please help us raise the necessary funds for these trips.

If there’s any way you could spare even a tiny amount of money it would mean the world to us to ensure our wonderful British Maritime heritage is preserved and celebrated.

Thank you!

Challenge was built in 1931, and spent her working life on the Thames. However she played her part in 1940 when she went to Dunkirk to help bring the soldiers home. This was part of operation dynamo. In 1942 saw challenge towing the Maunsell Anti aircraft forts into the Thames estuary to help stop the enemy bombers. At these times she was fitted with Oerlikon Cannon & forebridge for two Lewis machine guns. In 1944 a V1 flying bomb exploded in the water close to challenge causing extensive damage, thankfully all of her crew survived, some of the shrapnel holes are still present from the blast. By 1974 she was the last working steam tug on The Thames and was due to be scrapped. But luckily was sold to St Katherines Yacht Haven close to the Tower Bridge. She spent nineteen years there. In 1993 she was rescued by Dunkirk little ships restoration trust. With the great skills of this trust they done major hull work and replacing her original steam boiler with a more efficient oil boiler. Now we have taken the great honour of looking after this vessel and would love totake her around the UK as much as we can to share her story and educate people about her and great history she represents. So please help us with this mission Thank you The Steam Tug Trust