Iconic Morecambe Bay Prawner boat relaunched 130 years after she first set sail

‘Spray’ once again took to the waters of Morecambe Bay on July 25 – one of just a handful of these classic gaff rigged cutters still being sailed.

Once part of a fleet of more than 200 fishing boats known locally as Prawners or Nobbies, Spray plied the coastal fishing grounds off Lancashire and Westmorland.

Built to handle the dangerous waters, rushing tides and strong winds of Morecambe Bay, these sturdy boats would head out to reap the harvest of the bay.

They were to provide the burgeoning markets of the local seaside resorts of Morecambe, and beyond to Blackpool and Southport, with the favourite holiday delicacy of potted shrimps during the late 19th and early 20th centuries.

Built to be fast as well as seaworthy to secure the premium of getting the catch ashore first, they evolved into very speedy sail boats. This was a quality displayed during the annual regatta and fishermen’s races once seen off Morecambe Promenade in the late 1800s and 1900s.

Built at the famous boatyard of Crossfields in Arnside, Spray spent much of her life fishing out of Morecambe but as the local fishing trade dwindled and engines replaced sail, she went into private hands as a family cruising yacht.

With the death of her last owner and with fibreglass preferred by modern day yachtsmen, she was at risk of going the way of so many boats of the Prawner fleet, and falling into disrepair and irreparable decay.

This was when the recently formed Morecambe Bay Prawner Trust stepped in to preserve her and keep her sailing as a seaworthy example of North West England’s most iconic boat.

In late 2023, Spray was transported to Glasson Dock and cradled on the marina’s hard standing where local volunteers have been at work undertaking the essential maintenance and refurbishment which is always needed for any wooden boat.

Then with damaged planks replaced, re-caulked, anti-fouled and resplendent in bright red paint and gleaming varnish, she was relaunched into the Glasson Dock basin to have her mast stepped and for sea trials to begin.

"These remarkable boats were very much a central part in the life of the communities around Morecambe Bay,” said Alasdair Simpson, Chair of the Morecambe Bay Prawner Trust.

"Sadly, much of the understanding about this way of life and these remarkable boats is being lost and we hope that once again with Spray sailing Morecambe Bay’s waters, people will be able to witness a living example of our region’s maritime heritage.”

The next couple of months will see Spray undergoing sea trials as the trust members get used to sailing and understanding the 130-year-old vessel but come 2026, the intention is to have an extensive sailing programme which will see her moored off Morecambe Promenade – within easy viewing of the site for Eden North – and sailing further afield to Arnside for the village’s Classic Boat Festival, across the bay to Barrow’s Tall Ship Festival, and all being well off to Liverpool and the Isle of Man for their maritime festivals.

Robin Ashcroft, Trustee and Spray’s skipper said: “It looks as if we’re relaunching Spray at just the right time as we can return her to her original moorings off Morecambe in time for the opening of Eden North.

"But she will have a much wider role in encouraging not just a greater understanding of both these remarkable boats and Morecambe Bay’s wider maritime history, but also provide impetus locally to revitalise Morecambe Bay’s traditional trade of wooden boatbuilding and classic boat repair to meet a steadily growing demand for these specialist skills as interest in wooden boats grow.”