Morecambe Bay prawner Spray sails again after major restoration

 

An HISTORIC fishing boat has returned to sail at sea for the first time under the care of the Morecambe Bay Prawner Trust. 

‘Spray’ was built in 1896 by Crossfields of Arnside and is one of only a few surviving “Prawners” from the hundreds that once fished in Morecambe Bay.

The boat left Glasson Dock and made her way down the River Lune before hoisting her sails and heading into open water.

Spray spent much of her working life fishing out of Morecambe, but she also fished out of Barrow, Silloth, Maryport and the Wirrall.

In 2024 she passed into the stewardship of the Morecambe Bay Prawner Trust whose volunteers spent much of the following year doing the inevitable maintenance an elderly wooden boat requires and bringing her back into full commission.

Engine trials took place within Glasson Dock in autumn 2025, but it wasn’t until a recent combination of fine weather and recent Spring Tides that she was able to pass out of the dock basin, and into the Lune to raise her sails and head down to the Point of Lune and the Irish Sea beyond.

Skipper Tim Chittenden took Spray to sea for her latest voyage.

He said: “She’s very well-mannered and an absolute delight to sail. It says much about the skills of the old boat builders who combined to build such a seaworthy and powerful craft.

The fishing grounds for the Prawners were typically within three miles of the shore – a particularly challenging place to sail.

They evolved to deal with this and are particularly seaworthy – even in the notorious short sharp seas of the Irish Sea.

Their powerful gaff rigs enabled them to both haul nets and to put on a good turn of speed to stand a decent chance of being the first to land their catch and gain a premium price for the much sought after shrimps.

They were also designed to ‘take the ground’ and settle on the sand as the tide went out; an important consideration given that Morecambe Bay and wider eastern coast of the Irish Sea has very few easily accessible ports.

Alasdair Simpson, Chair of the Morecambe Bay Prawner Trust, called it “a very significant day and a huge achievement.”

He added: “All wooden boats require a lot of work – not least when they’re 130 years old – but she is looking magnificent.

“As our plans unfold, we aim go further afield around Morecambe Bay, not least to return to her old moorings off Morecambe’s Stone Jetty, but also to Piel Island and Fleetwood to highlight just what a remarkable maritime heritage the coastal waters of North West England have.”