Preparing a 120 Year Old Tall Ship for a Round Britain Voyage

[@GoingTheWholeHogg]

In 2024 we're documenting a year in the life of 120 year old tall ship, Bessie Ellen. This is the first film in the series, all about the work she's had done over winter to get her ready for her celebratory Round Britain Tour. We hope you enjoy this mini-documentary style film and learn a thing or two about keeping a historic wooden boat sailing in this modern age! Thanks for watching and subscribe to the channel to stay updated with future films from the series. Cheers! Kim & Del

[@johnlatchford9425]

Great video, i spent 10 days on Bessie Ellen in July '23 sailing from Oban to Penzance, so it great to see Nikki, Owen, Hazel & Freya on the video who were on the voyage, and to see some of the hard work that goes into getting ready for a season. Wishing Bessie Ellen and the crew fair winds for the 2024 Round Britain trip.

[@GoingTheWholeHogg]

Thanks John, glad you enjoyed it, especially as you have your own insight and experience from last year. We have just arrived off the coast of Arran in Scotland, all going well so far.

[@swiertopper7483]

Bessie you are a craftswomen knowing every thing of sailing repairing working with people ,you past this craft to the younger people. I have great respect for you. And please take care of yourself and the future.

[@GoingTheWholeHogg]

Thanks very much, happy you appreciate all the hard work and knowledge 😊

[@johnryan2193]

Brilliant story and it takes a HUGE COMMITMENT to manage such a large vessel. Brave heart .

[@GoingTheWholeHogg]

Indeed John, no shortage of challenges to face and problems to overcome in managing a ship like this… a takes a determined and person to make it work.

[@sumobear2031]

Really enjoyable video, That is one skipper who is at one with her vessel , i liked her calm manner and the way she shared her knowledge,

[@GoingTheWholeHogg]

Glad you enjoyed it. Yes, Nikki knows her stuff, almost as if her and Bessie Ellen have a symbiotic relationship 🙂

[@friedlotto]

Stunning. Would love to see more of how Ms. Alford got into sailing, the process of buying Bessie Ellen and building this amazing business.

[@GoingTheWholeHogg]

Glad you enjoyed it. There will be a lot more to come and we hope to explore a lot of those questions while documenting this year’s voyage 🙂

[@frankkolton1780]

What a wonderful, well done video, it was both fascinating and educational. The amount of work that needs to be done on a ship vast, 100 fold more for a traditional wooden sailing ship. You're an excellent teacher, not only do you instruct the crew on how to do things, you give the reasoning behind it. Thanks for keeping the knowledge alive, sailing the seas is such an important part of human history.

[@GoingTheWholeHogg]

Thanks Frank, glad you enjoyed it so much. Thanks for leaving such a great comment and thanks very much for the appreciation 🙂

[@waterboy8999]

I love this! I spoke to you one fine evening on the pontoon at Oban last year. What a fantastic boat.

[@MCP53]

I'm so glad I happened upon your channel! I spent 20 or so years in Vaasa, Finland, and there I was part of the crew that maintained and crewed our 12 tonne, 12 metre replica of a traditional Scandinavian post yacht, taking paying passengers out into the archipelago. I shall continue my education with you - it's fascinating!

[@GoingTheWholeHogg]

That sounds like a really great experience! Thanks for watching and hopefully we can provide you with many more interesting videos in the coming days 🙂

[@garrickmartin7707]

I do love the smell of Stockholm tar. It takes me back to my childhood when as a 5 year old I traveled with my family from Australia to England on an aged steamer, the Multan. Deck quoits was big and these were sourced from the bosun, where he stored them in his locker, which was richly redolent of Stockholm tar. Sigh.

[@GoingTheWholeHogg]

That’s great, what a memory 😃

[@markobrien1793]

Fantastic work, Kim, Del and the whole crew. It was a pleasure sailing with you, hope we can catch up later this season!

[@GoingTheWholeHogg]

Thanks Mark! Really enjoyed your company and miss your calming presence onboard 😃… hope to see you later in the season!

[@isabelleb.1270]

Third video I watch, and every time I am absolutely amazed by the dedication of the crew and how stunning the videos are ! Wishing you all the best ! 🧡✨

[@GoingTheWholeHogg]

Thank you very much, that’s greatly appreciated 🙂

[@Collected1]

A fascinating start to your documentary with some stunning footage. I can only imagine how many years of knowledge and history are on display here in maintaining and preparing a beautiful ship like this. The shared passion for Bessie Ellen and sailing in general is clear to see. I'm looking forward to following the journey.

[@GoingTheWholeHogg]

Thank you, very glad you enjoyed this first instalment of Bessie Ellen’s story. It’s been a pleasure for us to learn so much and to be able to tell the story. Lots of interesting stuff to come.

[@canyonhaverfield2201]

Oscar winning cinamatography ❤

[@GoingTheWholeHogg]

Thank you so much 🙏

[@john0280dl]

Great video Nikki. Nov 2015 in the Canaries seems a long time ago but your Facebook posts bring back good memories. Maybe catch up with you somewhere along the South Coast.

[@GoingTheWholeHogg]

Cheers for watching John, will pass your message on to Nikki.

[@douglaspfeiffer]

That's amazing! Hope to see more of this journey 😀

[@GoingTheWholeHogg]

Thanks! Plenty to come 😃

[@Jacob-W-5570]

Lovely to see this! Thank you for keeping the ship going keeping the skills alive. Myself I sail as an engineer in the merchant navy. But your kind of sailing is still something I want to do.

[@GoingTheWholeHogg]

Glad you enjoyed it! Hope you can have your own experiences sailing in the future 😃

[@juliefahy]

I loved this, can't wait to follow your adventures this year!

[@GoingTheWholeHogg]

That’s great, thanks! It’s going to be an epic year 😃

[@backtothebarky]

What are the furry fluffy surrounds on parts of the rigging? Saw some of these on a tall ship the other day too and wondered what they were then now just seen the same on here...

[@GoingTheWholeHogg]

They are called ‘baggy wrinkles’ and the purpose is to protect the sails when they’re coming down.

[@jonnyingledew5723]

Exciting guys! 🤙

[@GoingTheWholeHogg]

Cheers Jonny! 😃

[@offframephotography765]

Great documentary episode

[@GoingTheWholeHogg]

Thanks Altin, much appreciated 🙏

[@moleisrich1]

Love it.

[@GoingTheWholeHogg]

Great! 👍

[@roland5359]

[@GeffreyKane]

On the 1st episode, I was waiting for the moment when she said being a woman came up. I've ignored sexism all my life & just got on with it, but in the boat world that became impossible. This lady has at least 10years in age & living/working/restoring an old boat, & I'm relieved to say after 10years I'm experiencing a change in attitudes. In her day, she must have had to put up with some shite.

[@robertcarkeek8391]

❤