Leader is a former Brixham sailing trawler, one of the largest of
her type ever built. She is the largest, and oldest, of Trinity's four vessels
and was built in 1892 at the boatyard of A. W. Gibbs in Galmpton on the river
Dart. She fished in UK waters until 1907, when she was sold to new owners in Scandinavia.
She remained there as a working vessel until the 1960's, when she became a sail
training vessel under the flag of the Swedish Cruising Club. In 1985, she was
taken to the West coast of Scotland, where she was used for sailing charter holidays.
In 1996 she was brought home to South Devon, and operated from Dartmouth until
1999, when she became part of the Trinity fleet, and returned to Brixham.
Leader is rigged as she would have been when first built, as a gaff ketch. She
is 80' long on deck, and 105' overall. She displaces about 110 tonnes in sailing
trim. She has a beam of 19'6" and a draft of 10'.
Down below, Leader has been fitted out for her modern role. She has accommodation
for twelve guests and five crew, a large saloon area, a galley with a large, gas
cooker, two heads, two hot showers, and a generator that supplies a ring main
with 240v electricity. She has a well equipped nav. station with modern navigation
equipment including Radar, GPS and DSC VHF Radio.
Leader was one of the largest of the sailing trawlers, known, despite
their Ketch rig, as the 'Big Sloops'.
Official
Number
99504
Port
of Registry
Brixham
Builder
A
W Gibbs, Galmpton, Devon
Date
Launched
1892
Radio
Call Sign
MFZX5
Gross
Registered Tonnage
53.21
Net
Registered Tonnage
47.12
Length
Overall including spars
30.50
m
100'
0"
Length
of Hull
24.40
m
80'
0 "
Length
of Waterline
20.80
m
68'
3 "
Maximum
Beam
5.90
m
19'
4 "
Maximum
Draft
3.00
m
9'
10 "
Working
Sail Area
222
sq m
2390
sq ft
Displacement
100
tonnes
110
tons
Ballast
15
tonnes
16.5
tons
Engine
– Daewoo L136 6 Cylinder
119
kW
160
Hp
Water
Capacity
2,300
litres
508
gals
Fuel
Capacity
1,040
litres
229
gals
The Rig
Leader is rigged now just as she was when she fished under sail,
over 100 years ago. She has a 'Gaff Rig', indicating that the Main and Mizzen
sails are hoisted using a 'gaff', a spar attached to their upper side. The Ketch
rig (two masts) was used to divide up the sail area, making each sail easier to
handle by a small crew. The large number of sails (up to eight) makes it easy
to 'change gear' by hoisting or lowering sails as required, depending upon the
strength of the wind.
The Ketch rig is very versatile; good in light winds, when extra sails can be
set (such as flying jib and mizzen staysail), good in heavy winds (she can sail
under mizzen and staysail alone) and good for manoeuvring (the mizzen can be used
to help to balance and turn the boat).
Leader
Length: 105 feet Beam:19 feet
No of berths, inc. crew: 17
Provident
Length: 95 feet Beam:17 feet
No of berths, inc. crew: 16
Golden Vanity
Length: 53 feet Beam:10 feet
No of berths, inc. crew: 9
Spirit Of Britannia
Length: 60 feet Beam:13 feet
No of berths, inc. crew: 14
