Historic steam boat pays a visit to Whitby
WHITBY Harbour had a new visitor this week when a spectacular wartime steam ship cruised into town.
Whitby gets steamed up
The VIC 96 is a steam coasting lighter powered by coal and arrived in Whitby on Wednesday evening at 6pm.
She was commissioned by the War Office and built in 1945 by Dunston’s of Thorne and used as a replenishment ship to carry items such as potatoes, coal and ammunition.
One of 98 VICs (Victualling Inshore Craft) built, she spent a large part of her working life in Sheerness and Chatham.
For the past 25 years or so she was at the Steamship Museum in Maryport, Cumbria, where she was in danger of sinking and Vic 96 Trust – a registered charity – was formed to restore her when she was threatened with the scrapheap.
The enthusiasts have spent £600,000 of their own cash transforming her back to her former glory.
The Vic 96, which is being skippered by Derek Gransden, chairman of the Vic 96 Trust, measures 85ft long, 20ft wide and has been sailing at a speed of up to seven knots.
The 10 strong crew set sail from Maryport on 5 July and have been stopping off at various ports along the coast.
She was due to set sail from Whitby this morning at 2am and the crew hope to arrive in Chatham next weekend where she has been offered a berth in Chatham No 1 basin.
The ship will be a working exhibit, attending steam fairs and functions in the UK and hopefully Europe too.
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