A LONG-GONE fleet of working sailing ships, once a vital part of the West Somerset coastal trade, will be brought back to life in an exhibition at Watchet’s Mayfly Studio gallery from today (Friday) until next Thursday (May 30) from 11am to 4pm.

Journalist, author and sailor Tony James‘s scratch-built models recreate in detail some of the vessels once a common sight in the ports of Minehead, Watchet and Porlock over 100 years ago.

Tony has sailed the equivalent of twice around the world and his interest in both models and full-size traditional sailing craft spans over 50 years. He has worked in a number of museums and many private collections.

Built from original blueprints, and taking up to six months to complete, models range from Bristol Channel pilot cutters and trows to ketches and topsail schooners, a largely forgotten fleet which depended on wind and tide to make a living from the sea.

“Model-making is one way of keeping alive the memories of past generations of seafarers and long-gone classic ships,” Tony James says.

He has owned several classic vintage sailing boats and built a 20ft Bristol Channel flatner fishing boat, which is now in Watchet’s Boat Museum - of which he was joint founder.

“I’ve sailed all over the world but I’ve had more pleasure - and scares - in the Bristol Channel than anywhere else.”

Tony works as a freelance journalist and is author of a number of books, including Up the Creek (A lifetime spent trying to be a sailor) and Yankee Jack Sails Again (A sentimental journey to the forgotten ports of the Southwest). 

John Short, aka shanty-man 'Yankee Jack', knew the ports of the Southwest peninsula over 100 years ago. Tony revisited these ports, sailing into them in his flatner, aptly named “Yankee Jack.”