HUMBER KEEL AND SLOOP PRESERVATION SOCIETY

WHERE IT ALL BEGAN:

In July 1969 Cedric Lodge convened a meeting at his house in Cottingham to discuss the preservation of Humber sailing craft. The meeting ended inconclusively, but Cedric undeterred, conceived the idea of a voluntary Society which might undertake the preservation of a Humber Sloop and Humber Keel, an ambitious idea at the time. Early in 1970 Cedric published his ‘Prospectus for Preservation’, outlining his plans, and arranged a second meeting at the Royal Naval and Royal Marines Club in Hull on November 28 1970, at which the Society was born.

AIMS OF THE SOCIETY ARE:

• To preserve and sail examples of the Humber Keel and Humber Sloop in their traditional waters
• To promote their historical significance, by raising awareness of the important role they played in the local transport system, the work they did and the way of life aboard
• To pass on the skills required to maintain and sail these vessels so that future generations can continue the experience first hand

AIMS OF OUR WEBSITE ARE:

Humber keels and sloops are a part of Britain’s maritime and industrial heritage, COMRADE and AMY HOWSON are a part of the national collection of historic vessels being rare surviving examples of the two types of craft specifically designed and rigged to sail the  canals, rivers and estuarial waters of Lincolnshire and Yorkshire efficiently.

Our site will exhibit all kinds of archive material about keels and sloops, as well as photos and accounts of our activities during the many years that the HUMBER KEEL AND SLOOP PRESERVATION SOCIETY (HKSPS) has painstakingly restored and sailed these two Humber ships.

But the ships are not just museum pieces, they’re a living part of the local scenery. Every summer they sail the Humber and its tributary rivers the Trent and the Ouse. Although COMRADE and AMY HOWSON have engines fitted, the crew are keen to do as much under sail as the conditions of the day will allow.

RESEARCH: