The 2026 Bridlington Sailing Coble Festival is to be held over the weekend of 8-9 August and will involve visiting cobles and historic vessels joining the local fleet for a spectacular two days of sailing.
Although widely known as the UK and Europe’s largest shellfishing port, Bridlington is also home to an impressive fleet of sailing cobles unequalled anywhere in Great Britain. This is solely down to the success of the Bridlington Sailing Coble Preservation Society (BSCPS) and its membership.
Formed in 1983 to preserve, maintain and sail the 1912 Siddall-built sailing coble Three Brothers, which had been completely restored by the Bridlington Harbour Commissioners, the society has gone from strength to strength in recent times. As well as being custodian of Three Brothers,the BSCPS also owns Gratitude, built in 1976, and Gansey Lass, built in 2014.
A further seven sailing cobles are owned by members of the society and others locally, who are all enthusiastic about preserving the heritage of the northeast coast of England. During the summer months all the cobles can be seen sailing in the waters of Bridlington Bay.
Winter is when most maintenance work and painting is carried out, and a dedicated team can regularly be seen in the society’s Beck Hill workshop. The 24ft motor coble Rita Jameson (ex Probility)is also there at the present time undergoing a complete restoration by retired local boatbuilder John Clarkson and the team of volunteers. Originally built by Joe Gelsthorpe of Hornsea, she fished for a time at Flamborough before moving up to Amble. She returned to East Yorkshire after being bought by a Barmston farmer, who later kindly donated her to the BSCPS.
The beautiful 26ft Gratitude, originally commissioned by Whitby man Dave Wharton and built by Hector Handyside, works foreman and master coble builder at the J&J Harrison yard in Amble, has also recently been in the workshop. Built on the lines of a traditional Yorkshire sailing coble, in 1988 Gratitudewas taken halfway around the world, courtesy of P&O, for the Australian bicentenary celebrations. After a spell based at Scarborough, she was acquired by the BSCPS in 2015. Dave recently made a nostalgic visit to the workshop to see how the maintenance work on Gratitudewas going.
Gansey Lasswas one of two identical sailing cobles built side by side in Bridlington by John Clarkson and Joe Gelsthorpe in 2014. Traditionally built of larch with oak timbers (ribs), they were the last cobles to be built in East Yorkshire. The second of the two,Free Spirit, was bought by a member of the BSCPS, and both have moorings in the harbour.
BSCPS volunteers also run the Harbour Heritage Museum situated on the harbourside. The museum chronicles the ancient port of Bridlington from its early days to the present. With numerous interesting artifacts from days long gone, a mock-up of a traditional keelboat’s wheelhouse, and various models of fishing boats and pleasure steamers which once worked from the harbour, it has proved a popular venue, with its free admission.
Membership of the society is open to everyone, with payment of a small subscription, and as a sailing member, one can learn the skills of crewing the traditional cobles which were once the mainstay of the inshore fishing industry along the northeast coast. Further details on membership and volunteering at the Harbour Heritage Museum can be obtained from the secretary at: threebrotherscoble@gmail.com
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