Delight as restored sailing coble Kathleen is launched at Bridlington harbour

New coble Kathleen joins Gratitude and Three Brothers in the harbour.

The beautifully restored 27 foot Northumberland coble Kathleen, built by the Dawson and Beverley partnership at Seahouses in 1949, was recently launched at the harbour.

Now owned by Julie and Ian Coultas of Bempton, Kathleen was the 11th boat to come out of the Dawson and Beverley yard and originally built for the Stephenson family of Boulmer, Northumberland.

Further periods of working from Amble, Seaham and Hartlepool, saw her finish up at The Gut, North Shields, where she was named Tomleo. Looking for a coble to rig for sailing, Julie and Ian saw her there and the commitment was made to take her on for their restoration project, bearing in mind her age and being one of the few Seahouses built cobles still surviving.

Kathleen is christened by Julie Coultas.

The decision was made by her new owners to revert back to her original name of Kathleen and also to reinstate her fishing number of BK 46 on her hull, which she carried in her early fishing days, as a touch of nostalgia.

A spokesman said: “Kathleen will bring the number of sailing cobles at Bridlington to seven, with further similar restoration projects also being undertaken at present.

“The port already carries the mantle of ‘Sailing Coble Capital of Great Britain’ and with tentative plans being drawn up for the return of the popular weekend ‘Sailing Coble Festival’ in 2022, the future looks very promising for these traditional north east coast heritage craft.

“The restoration has been carried out by retired local boat builder John Clarkson and a team of volunteers from the Bridlington Sailing Coble Preservation Society at its Beck Hill workshop in the town.

“The final painting, which is in the traditional Northumberland blue and white, was carried out by Julie and Ian once the initial restoration work had been completed.”