Sport & Hobbies
From the heart of Rosyth naval base in 1978 five volunteers set out on VIC 56, an elderly steamer snatched from a scrapyard fate. With only a basic radio and a compass made usable by one of the crew, they set out down the North Sea. Turned away by some ports and welcomed in others, she began a new life on the London river just as Docklands was being reborn.
This was the first of many challenges to keep the steamer going and family, friends, work colleagues and sympathetic visitors were ruthlessly enlisted to help. A rare survivor of wartime shipping, the puffer attracted interest around the Thames estuary and in 1989 sailed across the North Sea to Flushing in Holland. VIC 56 appeared in arts events and in the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee Pageant in 2012 before being donated to Portsmouth Boathouse 4 in 2019 where she is a popular exhibit. Trips were only possible through the heavy work programme of the engineers to keep the engine, boiler and other machinery in good order.
This book looks at the challenges for small historic vessel owners and how to stay ahead.
Here's what readers have to say about this book....
VIC 56 had been a "naval puffer - a small cargo vessel used to carry stores". Henry Cleary saved VIC 56 from oblivion by acquiring it in 1979 - in 2019, he donated it to Portsmouth Naval Base Property Trust. In "Keeping A Puffer Afloat", Henry sets down his memories of life on and off VIC 56 during the intervening 40 years. At the start of the book, Henry says that "keeping VIC 56 going has been a social enterprise" - at the end, he writes that "maintaining and operating the VIC greatly enlarged our lives and the circles of people we met - it brought much pleasure". That pleasure shines out of the book. Steamship enthusiasts will find much technical detail to revel in, but the lasting impression left by Henry's narrative is that the largest wake left by VIC 56 has been companionship and fun.
This book looks at the preservation story over 40 years of VIC 56, a wartime built steam coasting lighter based on the Clyde Puffer, which served the Royal Navy in Dockyards and depots around the British Isles and globally. As one of the larger puffers, similar in size to a Thames barge, VIC 56 is probably as big a project as individual ownership (with friends and supporters) can manage, but much of Britain's maritime heritage is in this category. What was critical to keeping her going? Attracting volunteers, acquiring basic skills, and getting help from friendly professionals were all critical. Conscious of what can go wrong, caution was liberally applied in the early years. The book describes highlights of VIC 56 adventures to her birthplace at Faversham, Kent, sailing to the Netherlands in 1989 and appearances at Arts Festivals, with contributions from many of the people who made this possible. Since 2019 she has been part of the Boathouse 4 collection of naval support vessels at Portsmouth Historic Dockyard. Priced at just £9.95 Keeping a Puffer Afloat is a well written and highly readable book full of pictures which tells the tale of one of Britain's most successful private preservation projects of a small ship rescued from a fate in the scrapyard more than four decades ago and still with us today.
