Hand-Turned wooden pen from an Historic Ship

Aim

Help preserve the future of The Irene of Bridgwater. Own a piece of this remarkable vessel, lovingly crafted into a beautiful pen.

Irene of Bridgwater is a unique, historic vessel. Run by the same family for 60 years, she is currently undergoing a refit and we are trying to raise money to get her the last mile to be ready for next season. To achieve this, we have partnered with Devon Pens to use wood removed from the vessel and create some beautiful pens. All profit from the sale of the pens goes towards securing Irene’s future and allowing many more people to sail her for years to come.

The Pens

Whilst renovating Irene over many years, we have accrued a substantial amount of wood taken off the vessel. This ranges from old planks, replaced oak frames, even the old mast, and we have finally decided to put it to good use to continue to fund the vessel. This is a great opportunity to help support the Irene and own your own piece of the boat.

Every pen will be unique and handmade locally by Devon Pens (www.devonpens.co.uk). They will be high quality, expertly finished ballpoint pens, accepting parker refills and will be shipped in a lovely box. We are offering two types of pens made from the vessel:

- Hardwood, this is most likely to be oak from Irene’s structure or Interior trim

-Softwood such as larch, douglas-fir or pitch pine from old planking, deck and spars

As the aim is to raise money for the vessel and not to become pen suppliers, we are keeping the options limited and we currently have no plans to make any more pens after the fundraiser is over. If you want to support the vessel, now is your chance!

History

Irene has a fascinating and varied history. Built in 1907 in Bridgwater as a West Country Trading Ketch, she was the last wooden ship of her type to be built. For over 50 years Irene traded cargo around the Bristol Channel and beyond, carrying predominantly brick and tile for the Symons brickworks in Bridgwater.  Her final cargo trip was in 1961. She was bought in 1965 by Dr Leslie Morrish and has been owned by the same family ever since. The vessel was lovingly restored, and over the next forty years, she became a home, a holiday getaway, a charter vessel, a film set and much more; Leslie even wrote a book about this time called ‘Good Night Irene’.

In 2003 she was in the Caribbean and won the ‘Concourse d’Elegance’ at Antigua Classic week. A week later she caught fire and sank. With only a third of the ship remaining, Irene was declared a write off and was destined to be broken up and burned. However, her dedicated owners were determined to see her sail again. She was refloated and then towed back across the Atlantic by another cargo sailing vessel. Over the next 7 years she was rebuilt in Cornwall at the owners’ expense. Since she relaunched in 2009, she has run sail cargo, delivered high end charter holidays, provided sail training, worked with a mental health charity, even hosted a marriage ceremony - anything that will keep the vessel sailing and allowing as many people as possible to enjoy her. Sadly, in 2022 Leslie Morrish died, however the family have continued to manage and fund the vessel. We hope that by raising money we can continue Leslie’s legacy and get Irene back to sea.

Current Situation and beyond

Irene has undergone a turbulent time, recently. After a number of years attempting to run her as a charter vessel, in late 2021 Irene started working with the charity Sea Sanctuary, providing sailing trips for improving mental health. However, during the 2022 refit Sea Sanctuary folded, leaving the ship in financial difficulties. With no plan for the coming season, we decided to stay in refit for the following year to spread the cost out. Over this period we have not been idle. Irene has had a new generator fitted, the windlass has been completely rebuilt, new sails fitted, and a new main mast has been made, plus a myriad of other improvements.

The aim of this campaign is to supplement the funds provided by the family to get the boat out to sea next year – as well as providing a special memento for people to share in the history of such a beautiful vessel.

Once we get to sea, what’s next? Irene has made substantial financial losses every year and if the family are going to continue to fund the vessel, we would like her to be used for a worthy cause. We are hoping that we can partner with another charitable organisation and use the vessel for a more altruistic purpose. To do this we require your support so please buy a pen or donate.

Shipping and delivery

We can only guarantee UK shipping. If you are in the UK shipping is included in the price. However, if you wish to have a pen shipped internationally, please contact us at [email protected] before donating, as if we can’t provide your pen, you will still be charged.

Once the campaign is over, we will prep the blanks and give them to Devon Pens. David will be able to make at least 50 pens before the festive period.This means pens will start to ship before Christmas. After that the pens will be shipped out as they are produced.

If you, or a loved one, wishes to support us in ensuring Irene’s future, please consider buying a little slice of her past.  You’ll be helping us preserve one of the last West Country Trading Ketches, a valuable chapter of our maritime history and supporting us help the next generation of sailors experience the challenges and joy of sailing one of these magnificent ships.  What better Christmas present!

This project successfully funded on 5th December 2023