Sail Airing

The bending (attaching) and subsequent airing of the main and mizzen sails added to the visitors experience on Wednesday. A fresher than expected wind resulted in the lowering and furling of the sails earlier than planned. Luckily the tide was out and Shamrock was held firm by the mud.

Shamrock Diary Dates 2014

Hot off the press here are Shamrock's planned event dates for 2014.

Trips to Royal William Yard Plymouth.

Friday 2nd  to Monday 5th May.
Friday 4th  to Monday 7th July.
Friday 1st  to Monday 4th August.
Friday 5th  to Monday 8th September.

Trip to Saltash sailing regatta.

Friday 20th  to Monday 23rd June.


The normal format for all weekend trips is to depart from Cotehele Quay on the rising tide once there is sufficient water to float her out of the dock. The return trips departures will be timed to give Shamrock sufficient time to arrive back at Cotehele Quay on or before the high tide. Times will be published here when they are known.

The Weather Effect

As Shamrock is the last of the Tamar sailing barges and is irreplaceable a bad weekend weather forecast can result in any trip being cancelled at short notice.

40 Years at Cotehele

The 22nd July 2014 is the 40th anniversary of Shamrock arriving at Cotehele for the start of her restoration and a day of celebration is in the planning stage for Saturday 26th July. This will include activities on the Shamrock, quay and possible boat shed.

Name Carving

Shamrock is slowly getting shipshape and seaworthy, also with the bulwark repair completed Shaune has been busy carving out SHAMROCK on the repaired section, at times he had quite an audience.

The freshly varnished main, mizzen and staysail sheet blocks have all been reeved with their respective sheets (ropes) and shackled into place. The bending on and airing of the sails should take place on a preferably dry and sunny day over the next couple of weeks.

One question to be answered is what do we do with the old SHAMROCK carved section of bulwark?

Shamrock From The Air

Rumours have been circulating that a strange object has been spotted in the sky over the Cotehele Estate. Now the crew has found that a quadcopter shot video featuring Cotehele House, Quay and of course Shamrock, has been posted on YouTube.

Views of Shamrock start at around 4 minutes. Nice view of the repaired bulwark, not so sure about the music.

Visiting Shamrock

Volunteers have now been found to open Shamrock regularly for visitors Monday to Thursday afternoons, weather permitting. Regular Sunday opening is proving a bit problematic but with luck this will soon be solved. If you are planning to visit Shamrock don't forget to check here to make sure if she is not away on one of her trips. These dates will be published when known.

Open for visitors.

Nancy Belle River Trips 2014

Due to the success of last years oversubscribed Nancy Belle river trips more are planned for this year. After consulting with the tide timetables the following dates and times have been pencilled in for 2014.

• Wed 18 June; 9.30-12.00
• Fri 4 July; 9.45-12.15
• Thurs 17 July; 9.30-12.00
• Fri 18 July; 10-12.30
• Mon 4 Aug; 10.30-1.00
• Mon 18 Aug; 11-1.30
• Tues 19 Aug; 11.30-2.00
• Tues 2 Sept; 10-12.30
• Wed 3 Sept; 11-1.30

The two hour plus trip costs £12pp and includes a pasty lunch. To book please ring 01579 352720. Trips are dependent on the weather and can be cancelled at short notice.
Any profits from the trips will go to funding Shamrock (more paint).

Shamrock Repair

The broken section of washstrake was replaced on Monday but Shaune, ever the perfectionist, was still not happy with it and spent a few days trimming it to the lines he wanted. Now all that is left is for somebody to go over the side to carve the name SHAMROCK as it's a requirement that her name is marked on each bow.