| During May 2009, to mark the
Year of Homecoming, the Scottish Fisheries Museum in Anstruther will be
sending a cultural and historical team to visit some of the old herring
ports in the Highlands and Islands. The
highlight will be the voyage of the Museum’s flagship REAPER around the
area, where she will be open free of charge to members of the public. REAPER will begin her tour at Oban, where she
will be open to the public between 10am and 5pm on Friday 15th
May. She will then visit Tobermory (Saturday 16th May), Mallaig
(Monday 18th May), Knoydart (Tuesday 19th May), Kyle
of Lochalsh (Wednesday 20th May), Portree (Thursday 21st
May), Grimsay (Saturday 23rd May, for Grimsay Boat Day), and will
finish at Stornoway (Monday 25th May).
The visit has been made possible by a grant
from Awards for All, a subsidiary of the Heritage Lottery Fund, and is
facilitated by the generous co-operation of councils and communities
throughout the West Coast.
REAPER, launched from the Forbes yard in
Sandhaven in 1902, is the last authentic surviving example of a sailing
Fifie, the herring drifters which were prolific around the coasts of
Scotland a century ago. She is part of the important Core Collection of the
National Historic Fleet, along with such vessels as HMS VICTORY and CUTTY
SARK. Maintained and crewed by volunteers from the Museum Boats Club, she
now makes guest appearances at events throughout the country. She has
visited some 50 ports over the years, as far apart as Lerwick, Portsmouth
and Glasgow.
Since being acquired by the Museum she has
been fully restored to her original 1902 sailing rig, and the former fish
hold has been set up as a museum to display the old fishing gear, clothing
and equipment in common use in her heyday. Over the past ten years she has
been visited by over 176,000 people from 119 different countries in addition
to the UK.
It is hoped that schools in each area will
take advantage of the visits to bring their classes to visit the boat. A
shore-based team will be visiting schools, museums and heritage centres,
tourist offices and cultural co-ordinators in advance of REAPER’s arrival,
and will be distributing publicity material and information packs including
details of the vessel, together with colouring competitions and quizzes for
children Most of the answers can be found on the Museum’s website,
www.scotfishmuseum.org. For further information on the Museum or
fishing heritage contact the Museum there or on telephone no. 01333 310268.
Don’t miss your chance to see this unique
floating museum, a relic of days gone by and of our common cultural
heritage. |
.gif)
