News from Creekside - June 2010

We have followed the practice of bringing out a new book every year, but this year Creekside will not be bringing out a new book. This is because we have not taken enough good colour photographs for the next book. However next year it is possible that Creekside will be publishing two new books. Sadly two old favourites, Norfolk Rivers and Harbours and Rivers to the Fens are coming to the end of their lives in print. We are constantly being asked for The Deben River and Rivers Alde, Ore and Blyth, but they are already out of print. Although the reprints have kept some of the English Estuaries Series alive for sometime they are all going to fade out one day. It is gratifying to see Over Snape Bridge, Robert’s first book, published in 1967, for sale, second hand, for prices varying from £13 to £30. This publication was originally sold for two shilling and sixpence, which is about 12p now. It is collected, we are told, because it is the beginning of a noteworthy series of books on coastal and river subjects.

The point of Creekside Publishing was to produce good books, but be entirely independent of all organizations and mainstream publishing. Because of this slightly independent approach, outside the system in both publishing and traditional boat preservation it came as a surprise when a letter arrived from Lord Greenway, of the World Ship Trust, to say that Robert Simper had been awarded a citation for ‘recording and preserving so much of the country’s vintage sailing craft.’ 

The real pleasure of this is to have seen the whole traditional boat restoration scene come alive. In the 1950s it was possible to buy books covering most of the traditional working boats of the British coast. Also go down to the nearest harbour and see the last of these craft converted to motor vessels, with the exception of a few Thames sailing barges and the Falmouth workboats.  Robert never expected to see powerful Cornish and Scottish fishing luggers under sail again, nor Bawleys, with great loose footed mainsails, When Robert started writing the regular ‘Sail Review’ feature in the Sea Breezes magazine in 1966 there about thirty square riggers in the world and about the same number of Thames barges under sail. Now there are well over two hundred square-riggers and the number is steadily growing.

The inspiration for much of this revival came from books and magazines. How else would people have ever known these vessels had ever existed if they had not been recorded in print in numerous books and magazine articles. Each generation produces something good and something bad, the trick is to preserve the good and get ride of the bad. Sailing ships were good, but with poor living conditions and the dangers associated with nineteenth century ships, numerous went missing at sea. This has been largely overcome with modern technology. Time will not stand still for anyone, but the trick is to take the best from the past and carry it forward into the future.

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