Features / The Matthew
The Matthew sets sail for Gloucester boating festival
At 8:27am on Wednesday, May 22, one of Bristol’s most well-known ships, The Matthew, set sail bound for Gloucester.
The crew of volunteers will sail the ship over the next two weeks through Portishead and Gloucestershire. The sea-farers will end their journey at the Gloucester Tall Ships Festival in Gloucester Docks.
This version of The Matthew is a reconstruction of John Cabot’s ship that crossed the Atlantic from Bristol to North America in 1497. The replica was finished in 1996 in celebration of John Cabot’s ship’s 500th anniversary and is a full size version at 78ft long.
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The Matthew prepares to leave Bristol Harbour
The Matthew is currently captained by Rick Wakeham with the help of a crew of enthusiastic volunteers. Deck lead Ray said: “This version of The Matthew sailed to Newfoundland in 1997, 500 years after Cabot had. It’s an important ship for Bristol.”
All members of the crew volunteer for The Matthew of Bristol Trust, a government funded charity for “the acquisition, repair, fitting out, enhancement and preservation of the replica”.
Many of the Matthew’s crew have been sailing on other ventures for decades but unlike Cabot’s crew, who would have slept on deck, today bunk beds lie below for a seemingly comfortable journey as the crew head towards the festival.
In John Cabot’s day, the crew would have slept on the deck.
When moored in the harbour, The Matthew is open to the public for educational school trips and as a venue to hire. The ship will return to its home in Bristol Harbour in two weeks after the Tall Ships festival and some bonus blue-water sailing.
For more information visit www.matthew.co.uk
Photos taken by Mary Mann.
Read more: Reliving the history of the docks
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