Ship profile for the sailing ship: "Vigilance of Brixham"

Photos of the sailing ship:

Please click into a photo to see it in higher resolution.

Vigilance of Brixham, Matthias Berghahn, Douarnenez , 07/2002

Source, location, date:
Matthias Berghahn,
Douarnenez,
07/2002

Vigilance of Brixham, Thad Koza (http://www.tallshipsinternational.net/), Gulf of Biscay , 09/2005

Source, location, date:
Thad Koza (http://www.tallshipsinternational.net/),
Gulf of Biscay,
09/2005

Technical data of the sailing ship:

Name:Vigilance of Brixham
Ex-names:BM76
Registered port:Brixham
Nation:GBR
Type of rigging:KETSCH
Type of ship:Brixham Trawler, Gaffelketsch
Year built:1926
Yard:J.W. & A. Upham, Brixham, GBR
Overall length:34.00 m
Length (hull):23.80 m
Breadth:6.00 m
Draught:2.70 m
Sail area:242 m2
Power:230 PS
Engine:Diesel

Portrait of the sailing ship:

Last update: 23 Feb 2007

  • built as a ketch rigged fishing trawler in Brixham in 1926, she worked with the local fishing fleet until 1938, first owner was George Foster from Brixham, registered as "BM76".
  • used by the Royal Navy as a barrage balloon mooring vessel during the war.
  • several changes of the owner between 1949 and 1955, used as a Gentleman's yacht, film vessel, charter boat and adventure training craft in France, the Faeroe Islands, Ireland and the Isle of Man.
  • 1955 purchased by Ken Harris, restored by himself.
  • took part in the 1983 Cutty Sark Tall Ships race sailed by an all women crew, carried a school expedition to Norway's Lofoten Islands in 1986.
  • 1998 given to the "The Vigilance of Brixham Preservation Company Ltd.", a company dedicated to the preservation and use of one of the the last Brixham sailing trawler built, shareholders are mainly local people with a love of historic sailing vessels.
  • has recently been refitted, restored and sympathetically modernised.
  • available for corporate or private charter, sails out of Brixham, Devon in England.

Last tracked position of the ship:

Map provided by FleetMon.com

Last tracked position of the ship Vigilance of Brixham

Contact:

Website (English, 16 Mar 2002):
http://www.vigilanceofbrixham.co.uk/
Vigilance of Brixham: her history, chartering and sailing programme, preservation objectives, picture gallery

Literature for further reading:

We recommend the following references for your further research of the ship. The references marked with have been included in the generation of the ship profile on this page.

Paul Brown
"Historic Sail. Britain's Surviving Working Craft"
The History Press 2013 ISBN: 978-0-7524-8581-2
(in Association with National Historic Ships UK)
Page: 21, 23 Source with picture Source with history Source with technical data