The winners of the Photography Competition, Marsh Volunteer Awards, Excellence in Maritime Conservation Award and Flagships of the Year were revealed in an Awards film recorded in Windermere and premiered on YouTube. 

National Historic Ships UK’s (NHS-UK) annual awards are a celebration of maritime heritage around the UK. They encourage people of all ages and backgrounds to engage with historic vessels through photography, volunteering, conservation, online activities and skills-based training.

For this year’s Awards film NHS-UK headed to the beautiful Lake District, hosted jointly by Windermere Jetty Museum and Windermere Lake Cruises.  The origins of both organisations date back to the Victorian heyday of Lake District tourism, and between them, they own eighteen historic vessels on the National Registers.

PHOTOGRAPHY COMPETITION

NHS-UK’s Photography Competition is always hugely popular, with hundreds of entries each year from Britain and around the world.  This year’s theme was ‘True Colours’, and it attracted nearly 500 entries featuring a wide range of historic vessels and the people who engage with them.

There are four Award categories:

  • Photographer of the Year – awarded to the photographer and image selected by the judges as the Overall Winner of the competition.  A Highly Commended prize is also awarded.
  • The Classic Boat Award – chosen by Classic Boat and awarded to the image most closely fitting the ethos of the magazine.  A Highly Commended prize is also awarded.
  • Newcomer of the Year
  • The People’s Choice Award – the only award voted for by the public.

The accolade of Photographer of the Year 2024 went to Peter Collins from Portsmouth, for his image Painting Trafalgar.

The winner of the Classic Boat Award was Chrissie Westgate, from West Mersea, Essex, for her image A Sinking Feeling.

Classic Boat Award Winner – A Sinking Feeling by Chrissie Westgate

Amy Lawson, from Perth, Australia, was awarded Newcomer of the Year for her image A White World.

Newcomer of the Year Winner – A White World by Amy Lawson

Finally, the winner of the People’s Choice Award was Julie Fletcher from Llandeilo, Carmarthenshire, for her photo of the historic narrow boat Delhi meeting a steam train; True LMS Locomotive Colours.

People’s Choice Award Winner – True LMS Locomotive Colours by Julie Fletcher

AFLOAT AND ASHORE PAINTING COMPETITION

This year, for the first time, NHS-UK partnered with the Royal Society of Marine Artists and the Wapping Group of Artists to hold a painting competition celebrating craft on the National Register of Historic Vessels. Artists were encouraged to visit a site to directly engage with the vessel and absorb its significance.

The Winner was David Curtis, for his detailed work depicting the 1912-built fishing coble Three Brothers in Bridlington Harbour.

RSMA Winner – The Three Brothers, Bridlington by David Curtis

MARSH VOLUNTEER AWARDS

The Marsh Volunteer Awards recognise outstanding volunteers in the conservation or operation of historic vessels in the UK. Volunteers are the lifeblood of the sector with many vessels depending on them to keep going. These Awards, run in partnership with the Marsh Charitable Trust, celebrate the hard work and achievement of the many diverse individuals and groups who volunteer in support of maritime heritage. There are three Award categories: Group, Individual, and Shipshape project – for projects listed on NHS-UK’s Shipshape Network.

This year, the Group category was won by The Wick Society Boat Club (Wick, Caithness).  Christopher Barlow from The West Wales Maritime Heritage Society (Pembroke, Pembrokeshire) won the Individual category. The Shipshape Award was won by The Pythoneers (Chesterfield, Derbyshire). The judges also recognised Pam Bathurst from The Medway Queen Preservation Society (Gillingham, Kent) with a Lifetime Achievement Award.

EXCELLENCE IN MARITIME CONSERVATION AWARD

In honour of NHS-UK’s late Director, Martyn Heighton, the Excellence in Maritime Conservation Award was launched in 2019 to mark best practice in the conservation of historic vessels. The Award boasts a hand-carved trophy that was commissioned using wood from HMS Victory.

The 2024 recipient of this prestigious Award is Bernard Condon (Coleraine, Northern Ireland), for his exemplary conservation of the 1964 lifeboat Grace Paterson Ritchie, returning her to in-service condition with 95% of the hull and fittings intact. The Judging Panel were particularly pleased to award the trophy to Bernard, as the first private owner – and the first individual – to win the Award.

The judges also commended Boathouse 4 at Portsmouth Historic Quarter (Portsmouth, Hampshire) whose team of volunteers built CMB 4R, a full-scale operational replica of the First World War torpedo boat CMB 4, enhancing our knowledge of the design whilst preserving the original vessel.

FLAGSHIPS OF THE YEAR

The annual Flagship of the Year Awards provide an opportunity to demonstrate and celebrate the value of historic vessels to the wider public, through online activities, museum engagement, events, open days and special tours. Flagships promote the role of NHS-UK and ‘fly the flag’ as ambassadors for the UK’s maritime heritage sector. This year, the judges awarded National Flagship status to one vessel, as well as one Static and two Operational vessels.

The National Flagship of the Year is the 1946 paddle steamer PS Waverley (Glasgow).

Waverley at Isle of Wight. Image: Waverley Excursions

The Operational Flagships of the Year are the 1931 steam tug Challenge (Medway, Kent) and the 1924 Brixham trawler Provident (Oban, Argyll & Bute). The Static Flagship of the Year is the 1923 Spritsail Barge Lady Daphne (Charlestown Harbour, Cornwall).

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