Tenby Luggers evolved in the early 19th Century in Tenby , to work along the dreadful iron bound, but stunningly beautiful coast of South Pembrokeshire. They were open boats that fished for oysters and white fish in season in Carmarthen bay. The owner skippers recognised early on that the new fangled railway was bringing increasing numbers of tourists to the town. They were only too pleased to pay for a trip round the bay, or an hour's fishing for mackerel. There was also the regular ferry service across several miles of open sea to Caldey Island.
The demise of the little open luggers came in the form of the bigger Brixham trawlers which could stay at sea for several days at a time and go further in search of fish. The splendid Brixham trawlers too were rendered obsolete by the even bigger steam trawlers that could go as far as Iceland. But they did not like Tenby harbour and so they moved to the then new town of Milford Haven with its sheltered harbour and deeper water.
What of the Tenby Luggers? They simply carried on in the tourist trade and outlived the Brixham trawlers.
Some years ago the Milford Haven Port Authority and the Pembrokeshire College formed a consortium called MITEC. This was called "Rising Tide Project" and, using grant aid from the EU, were tasked with teaching people how to build wooden boats, preferably those with an international connection. The first boat was a gig for the sailing ship Dunbrody in New Ross, Ireland. This was very successfully built and delivered .
David James of the West Wales Maritime Heritage Society was familiar with the project and enquired what the next boat would be. Sensing a vacuum, he suggested they consider building a Tenby Lugger, and provided photographs and sketches of the vessel to whet their appetite. The idea was accepted and work began and the basic hull was built.
At that stage it was just a shell with no thwarts, deck beams, etc inside. For various reasons work slowed down and then stopped on the project. With the "Rising Tide Project" timetable expiring a dilemma arose. The terms of the project were that the boat could not be sold, hired, given to a commercial operator or any other form of business. David James pointed out that the West Wales Maritime Heritage Society was a charity with maritime interests and was not subject to these prohibitive clauses, and he suggested the Society became her owners.
Our proposals for the future of the vessel were accepted and so she was collected by members and brought to Hancock's Boatyard in Pembroke Dock, the West Wales Maritime Heritage Society headquarters. She was completed in 2019 and can be seen on the Haven regularly.
