Provident then and now
Provident is a 1924 Brixham Trawler. As part of the national historic fleet she is one of the most treasured vessels operating in UK waters today. Our aim is to share the experience of being on this amazing boat. To infuse our guests with our love of sailing and to show you some amazing and beautiful places.
At 70 ft on deck, 90 ft overall and weighing in at nearly 90 tons Provident provides a tremendously safe and stable platform. These boats were developed and sailed before the advent of paper charts. Today we have the latest electronic navigation on board but the gaff rig would be completely familiar to a 19th century sailor. With a choice of up to eight sails at a time the canvas can be set to make the most of any weather.
the brixham trawler
Facing Eastwards, Torbay in Devon offers natural protection from the prevailing westerly winds of the English Channel.
At the southern corner of the bay, Brixham is a perfect place for a harbour. For centuries Brixham has been an important fishing port.
During the 19th century the fishermen and shipwrights of Brixham developed a new kind of vessel, the deep sea trawler.
Massively strong, with a deep, straight keel, upright stem and fan shaped stern they revolutionised fishing, enabling bigger catches from further off shore. These sturdy vessels typically had ketch or “dandy” rigs offering tremendous power but, being split between two masts none of their distinctive red sails were too big or difficult to manage. The boats had to be enormously strong to brave any weather, stable to allow the hard work of fishing, powerful to haul the trawl through the waves and fast to get the catch back to harbour.
By 1887 there were more than three thousand such vessels registered around English and Welsh waters. One hundred and fifty nine at Brixham. Today only a handful remain.
Painting: A Brixham Trawler, William Aldophus Knell, 19th Century
The Provident Story
The vessel we see today was a replacement for the original Provident which was sunk by a U boat in 1915.
The first attempts at trawling under engine took place in the 1870s and by the ’20s trawling under sail was beginning to fade into memory. Provident was one of the last sailing trawlers ever built.
In 1930 she was sold to a wealthy American and converted to a yacht under the guidance of yacht design legend, Morgan-Giles. The lines and rigs of many work boats of this period went on to be highly influential to the design of new pleasure and racing yachts.