Elegant lady of the waves comes home
THE elegant and graceful lines of one of Brixham's best-loved ferries is returning to the Bay after being discovered impounded and decaying in Poole Harbour.
The Western Lady III, (pictured) one of the Bay's major maritime landmarks for 60 years, has been saved from being auctioned off at the 11th hour by a local ferry company, which plans to spend tens of thousands of pounds restoring the ship to her former glory.
Along with the Western Lady IV, the Western Lady III was withdrawn from service in Tor Bay in 2006 because of increased maintenance costs and changes in landing stage facilities.
A year later it was sold to a firm in Bournemouth, Dorset, for continuing use as a passenger ferry.
Locals bid a fond farewell to the historic ship when she left the Bay for what was presumed to be the very last time in July 2007.
But thanks to a twist in the tale worthy of an Agatha Christie novel, the vessel is now in the hands of the Greenway Ferry Company.
The company bought the ship on Monday and is planning to bring her to Brixham today for a brief stop-over before heading down to a Cornish boatyard for a major refit.
The plan is to then bring her back into service in mid-July, taking passengers from Torquay and Brixham to Dartmouth and Agatha Christie's former home at Greenway.
The Western Lady III, which the company is planning to re-name, will undergo a full refit programme over five years during the winter months in a bid to fully restore her as a heritage ship.
Operations manager Helen Meacock said: "About 18 months ago I spent the weekend in Bournemouth and I went to see if I could find her, and I had a brief conversation with one of the partners who had bought her.
"Then last Friday an elderly lady came up to me and handed me a phone number which she said I had to ring urgently.
"She had been looking everywhere for me, in Torquay, Paignton and Brixham.
"I don't know who she was but she said she was from Dorset.
"Anyway, I rang the number and I spoke to one of the partners who had bought her. He explained the situation that the boat had been impounded by the Maritime and Coastguard Agency and asked me to go and see her.
Helen went up to Poole Harbour on Monday to see the Western Lady III with Greenway Ferry Company bosses Will Ford and Ross Prowse and skipper John Ford.
"She was moored up against wasteland and in a sorry state," she said.
"It took us until 11pm to find all of the partners, who had become very fragmented, and to agree a price to purchase the vessel and pay off some of her debtors.
"After we found out what had happened to her we knew she had to come home where she belongs because she's part of Brixham and part of our heritage.
"We all have an attachment to her. Will worked on her, as did his mum and dad and our engineer.
"We had been told by the Poole harbourmaster that if we didn't purchase her by Tuesday and inform him first thing in the morning, he would arrest her and she would be sold at auction so we had to act very quickly to make sure that didn't happen."
Helen refused to say how much the company paid for the ship, but said the ferry was in 'tens of thousand pounds worth of debt,' which they have now cleared.
"The most important thing for us at that time was getting her back to Brixham.
"She had been out of service for over a year and has deteriorated badly.
5 Comments
by Big Bob, Goodrington
Thursday, June 25 2009, 6:00PM
“Out with the old and in with the new.
Why keep the name of the company which sold her out of the bay? Changing her name is the right thing to do.
Good luck, I will be the first to buy a ticket when she returns to service.”
by Pete, Brixham
Thursday, June 25 2009, 5:47PM
“What was the reason she left around two years ago? I remember her previous owners telling the Herald in an article that she could not run because of the dilapidation of her docking berth on Princess Pier and she could not be turned in the Torquay harbour. This is obviously now not the case, but what has changed as I saw her turn remarkably well under command of her skipper today? Perhaps they lost interest and did not want to have the cost of her up keep? I am sure this was the reason but may be I remember incorrectly. Whatever - she is welcomed back with pleasure. She will most certainly give the Stagecoach fast cat a run for its money should it return. I look forward to seeing her cross the bay; I could never miss her from my windows! She looks tired and neglected ¿ I truly hope the new owners can bring her back so she can grace our waters again.”
by David Conway, Brixham
Thursday, June 25 2009, 5:35PM
“Great News for the Bay - a historic piece of it has been returned! It should never have left! She may cost a lot to keep in service, but I am sure she will reward many a local and visitor with her elegance again. Well done to the new ferry company who had the foresight to bring her home. She is an attraction in her own right.”
by Ant, Paignton
Thursday, June 25 2009, 12:10PM
“"The Western Lady III, which the company is planning to re-name"
Why rename ?
The Western Lady is full of fond memories for anyone of a age to remember.”
by Ivor, Totnes
Thursday, June 25 2009, 10:00AM
“Thank you for putting that up...it brought back a flood of memories. If I behaved myself for a month when I was a kid, my Nan would treat me to a trip on the Western Lady from Torquay to Brixham, that was in the 1950's. At that time Torquay Harbour was full of large pleasure boats, the Western Lady's, Killoran, Pride of the Bay, the paddle steamers, the Channel Island Ferries, there were sea planes off of Haldon Pier, the Royal Navy big ships, cruisers, the US Navy and other foreign naval ships would visit the Bay every weekend. Those were fantastic days and look at it now the harbour has lost all it's appeal, but as they say it is progress.
My Dad in the war used to pedal ,cycle from Torquay to Galmpton to help build the build these naval coastal boats, that became the Western Lady's.
Thanks for bringing back memories of good times,
.
Ivor
PS If anyone is reading this and can remember those days, can they remember the other names of the pleasure boats can they post them up for me. Thank you.”