History

The original Yorkshire Belle, built for A & W Crawford, was launched at Messrs Cook, Welton & Gemmell's Beverley shipyard. She arrived in Bridlington on Thursday the 19th May 1938 which was her first time at sea as her trials had been conducted on the River Humber. Sadly, she was destroyed during the Second World War when she hit a magnetic mine in the Humber and was lost with all hands.

The replacement Yorkshire Belle was built in 1947 also by Cook, Welton & Gemmell and is registered as No. 793. She weighs 70 tons gross and has a length of over 24 metres, a breadth of nearly 6 metres and a depth of 1.7 metres. With two eight-cylinder Gardner engines each giving l52hp she can carry up to 206 passengers. She is fully licensed with a lounge bar and ladies' saloon that serves light refreshments throughout the cruise. She is equipped with a public commentary system for pointing out items of local interest along Flamborough Head and on most cruises there is live music played and an opportunity to purchase Yorkshire Belle souvenirs. As well as relaxing one-hour cruises to Flamborough Head, there are also special extended cruises to the Bempton Bird Sanctuary offering close-up views of the cliffs, lighthouse and caves.

She was bought in 1982 by her current owners, Mr Roy Simpson and Mr Peter Richardson. Before the purchase both men worked in Huddersfield but have now become Board of Trade recognised skippers. Previous Yorkshire Belle skippers have included Mr Jack Pockley who retired in 1972 and Mr Philip Thornton.


For further information:

Call 07774 193404 or 07950 648838 during the day.

Call 01262 603081 or 01262 673582 during the evening.

Photographs by kind permission of Graham Severn