£30,000 appeal launched to keep pleasure cruiser afloat

The Yorkshire Belle, built in Beverley in 1947, is now the only vessel of her type and size operating off the East Coast, but won’t be for long unless an ambitious £30,000 appeal target is met.

The vessel takes visitors on one-hour trips to Flamborough Head, as well as extended cruises to the Bempton Bird Sanctuary.

Had she sailed the summer season, owner of 39 years Peter Richardson says they would still have been out of pocket because they would have only been able to carry a quarter of the normal number of passengers, so there have been no sailings since Covid-19 struck.

The earliest she can sail again is next Easter, but bills they’ve incurred in the last 12 months still need paying and they need £30,000 to be able to operate, according to the Yorkshire Post.

The Yorkshire Belle still has to come out of the water for maintenance to comply with Department of Transport regulations.

“Maintenance is a large part but there are bills like insurance, harbour dues, that sort of thing,” says Richardson.

“I just want to keep this tradition carrying on. If the Yorkshire Belle goes from Bridlington it will be the end of a long tradition.

“Where there used to be five large pleasure cruisers, she is the last.

“A lot of people have affection for her – she is the only vessel capable of taking people from Bridlington to see the largest seabird colony in England.”

The vessel was built at Cook, Welton & Gemmell’s shipyard at Beverley, and of the 1,300 ships manufactured there, Yorkshire Belle is the only one which is still doing the job she was originally built for.