Re: December's newsletter

Lynher's December Newsletter

Lynher Undercover at Cotehele Quay
The Annual Refit Is Coming Along Beautifully

Lynher is lying safely in her berth at Cotehele, out of the worst of the winter storms and gusty winds of Arwen and Barra. She is resting and snuggly undercover whilst Captain Dom and Lynher's Volunteering Team are braving the cold and completing the regular maintenance plus effecting some repairs and upgrades. The rope netting, you can see being added in the first picture, was an ingenious way of adding weight to the cover and had extra value, as we could fasten it down to keep it all secure and in place. We found this enormous net in Whitsand Bay on the beach where it washed up with the tide, together with a variety of rubbish. It is fortunate that we are able to recycle this net for a good use in place of letting it float along our coastline for fish and mammals to get trapped in it!

In the meantime Dominic replaced the deck planks on the port side and sealed the seams with hot pitch (also known as Jeffrey's glue). This is a tricky operation to carry out in any circumstance as you have to 'cook' the pitch to melt it from its solid block shape. When it is hot and running, one has to quickly carry the pot aboard and dish out the melting glue with a ladle precisely along the seams length in order to fill them to the brim. When cold, the pitch solidifies and provides a high level of water tightness, protecting the oakum that has been caulked inside the seams beforehand. Luckly the operation went well, thanks to Brian who assisted Dom and also thanks to the excellent setting at Cotehele which means that we can carry out this type of work in all respect of health and safety, minimising the environmental impact and any risk of disruption to the deck.

Lynher's Spars and Rigging
Thank You To All Our Volunteers at Cremyll & Cotehele

We are making brilliant progress with the exacting work required to treat the mast, spars and stays and there is a lovely smell of linseed oil wafting around the workshop. You can see Lynher's Volunteering Team all working hard at the various tasks. Kit is making the most precise bench using larch carefully selected for its smoothness and lack of knots in the grain. He designed the bench himself, just to show off his amazing talent as a boatbuilder. This bench will serve two (or three..?) purposes when fitted. It will protect the solar panels when laid up and it will offer a prime spot for people to sit and enjoy the riverscape whilst Lynher is sailing or berthed. Of course, as Kit is well aware, it might serve a third purpose too..as a step to reach the mainsail!

Brian has devoted himself to the spar servicing with passion, making mixes of tar, boiled linseed and varnish to protect them and bring out that lovely warm colouring of the pitch pine to shine again. Ben, our latest volunteer recruit, has tried his hand at seizing until unfortunately he received a positive PCR test. Luckily he is well and able to see his family for Christmas. Jewel took on the daunting challenge of making a template for the leather loops on the shrouds. We used an old nautical chart for the template and then proceeded to cut the leather, punch the holes and soak it to flex. More on leatherwork in the next issue.

We are #HereForCulture!
Lynher CIC is awarded a grant by DCMS

We are again very grateful to the Department of Culture, Media and Sport for awarding Lynher CIC £23,800 to sustain the operation through these difficult winter months. Without this award we would have been unable to cover the costs of Lynher's refit.

Culture creates jobs, supports livelihoods, and brings joy to everyone. The UK leads the world in the creative industries and we can all feel pride in that.

Now, in these challenging times, it’s everybody’s turn to show our support for culture. With an unprecedented investment through the Culture Recovery Fund, the government is #HereForCulture so it can continue to weather the storm of coronavirus and come back stronger.

And we are #HereForCulture too.

#HereForCulture is a movement that unites the public, government and cultural organisations in support of our fantastic cinemas, theatres, music venues, museums, galleries and heritage.

By being #HereForCulture, DCMS isn't just supporting the people in the industry, they are also supporting communities across the country and the Lynher's Team rejoices of this support where none other could be found as the winter was looming. Thank you!

Do You Need Work Space?
We have Workshop Space to Let at Cremyll

We are looking to partner up with an ethical company to share workspace with us at Cremyll. Contact us at Lynher CIC for more information by email: l ynher@tamarbarge.org.uk or telephone to discuss on 01752 710052.

Industrial Sewing Machine Workshop
Our Volunteers Have It Sewn Up!

In the first picture you can see some of the pile of marine canvas off-cuts on the chair that we use to make our creations. It's amazing how you can make so many wonderful things from tiny left over pieces that would have, otherwise, landed in the bin. You also see in the first picture the Lynher Shopper Bag hanging up and the Lynher Handbag on the shelf next to it. The Lynher Striped Cube Holdall, pictured on the barrel, is our latest design. Our volunteers were so fascinated by seeing all manner of canvas bags being produced from these bits and pieces, they wanted to have a go. So, one by one, each grappled with loading the tricky and fiddly bobbins and changing threads and learning to get the feel of the machine. More practise is needed to control the speed via the machine foot pedal and guide the canvas through the needle but in picture two you can see great progress was made in a very short time. How talented and versatile our volunteers are! We are grateful to Amanda for her talent as a teacher, too. She makes it look so easy and she is very good at explaining this tricky process of controlling an industrial sewing machine. See Richard here in the two bottom images, following a one day training session with Amanda, he created this lovely bag all by himself, indeed an amazing student for the teacher!

Concluding Our Maritime History Series
Exhibition Display at The Gymnasium

Our maritime exhibition displayed in the Gymnasium has grown and more panels have been added to celebrate the history of the area. Whilst researching for content it was incredible to realise just how many famous and infamous yachtsmen and women had visited Cremyll. They developed great relationships with Peter Lavers and the Mashfords Boatyard whilst getting their yacht match fit for their various long and historic voyages around the world. The pictures above show two of the amazing characters that visited. In the first picture we see Sir Alec Rose, on "Lively Lady" who left Plymouth for Melbourne, Australia. He was a greengrocer by trade and one of the reasons he wanted to go to Melbourne was that his son lived there! Ann Davison is in the second picture onboard "Felicity Ann" (a Mashfords double-end design) who has a fascinating back story and she was the first lady to single-handedly cross the Atlantic.

Changes to Lynher CIC structure
A Huge Thank You To All Involved In Lynher's Success in 2021

This year's been full of challenges and unexpected events, Lynher and her team had to be so resourceful and versatile to meet everyone's expectations. Looking back to the past 12 months, we emerged from three lockdowns to a full flat-out season that saw around 650 children stepping on Lynher and learning new skills through the imaginative re-use of our maritime heritage. Our wider public engagement throughout the Virtual Maritime Heritage Festival in June and the community events at Cotehele Quay in August saw our audience rocketing to over 14,000 engagements and welcomed so many people aboard.
None of this would have been possible without our amazing team of volunteers and our wonderful administrator/photographer/canvas solution lady Amanda (pictured on the right). As we conclude the Cremyll Maritime Training project Amanda's role comes to an end however Amanda remains an important part of the Lynher's community and we look forward to having her joining in as a friend and continue to create her amazing canvas products!

On Lynher CIC's directorship board we say goodbye to Simon De Groot (pictured above on the right) who is now responsible for the project coordination of the Rame Peninsula Beach Care Trust. Simon has been invaluable in supporting Lynher CIC's aims and we are forever grateful to him for his knowledge and enthusiasm. We look forward to collaborating with the Rame Peninsula Beach Care Trust on environmentally centred projects in the future.

We welcome Hannah Hurford as a new director (pictured above, left). Hannah trained with Lynher during the first SHTP scheme hosted by National Historic Ships UK. Over the years Hannah has continued to support our aims with great enthusiasm and passion for our local maritime heritage. We are thrilled to welcoming her in this new role. In her own words:

'Over the last few years I’ve sailed on Lynher and worked for the CIC in various roles. Fundamentally, for me, seeing the barge on the waterways for which she was built epitomises what maritime heritage is about. As a symbol of local history and community, Lynher excels.
I was brought up punting around the Tamar on a canal boat during holidays as a child (and very much wading through mud trying to get to the mooring at low tide!). It’s been a fantastic journey getting back to those waters and sailing on them.
I have a passion for maritime history and for encouraging more diverse groups to the community. I work in Communications for a sail cargo company which brings the potential of sailing in a sustainable future to the fore.'

Happy Festive Season and New Year To You All
We will be back in 2022 with more news and views. Keep your eyes open for our new website coming out in January!

We leave you with this picture of Caitlin Izard's wonderful artwork, donated to Lynher CIC by herself and her grandmother, Norma Izard (great-great-great granddaughter of James Goss). The cards sold-out in just few days, thank you Norma & Caitlin!

Copyright © 2021 LYNHER RIVER BARGE CIC. All rights reserved.

Our operation address is:
Lynher RB CIC
The Gymnasium
Obelisk Field
Cremyll
Cornwall
PL10 1HX

Our registered address is:
Lynher RB CIC
Peninsula Trust
3 West Street
Millbrook
PL10 1AA

Tel: 01752 710052

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