It’s great news that the Waverley is coming to Bideford again on 15 June and we would love to see more historic ships visit our ancient port alongside the SS Freshspring. Last week, seven of us from Bideford, including both town and district councillors, visited a ‘Factory-Museum’ in northern Spain specialised in traditional shipbuilding, to kick off a project with the ultimate aim of bringing a historic Spanish ship to Bideford. 

The Albaola Foundation, based in the port of Pasaia near San Sebastian, restores and builds replicas of historic vessels using traditional techniques with the aim of re-discovering and promoting Basque history and culture. It has strong links with Canada, having nearly completed a replica of a 16^th century Basque whaling ship which was found wrecked off the coast of Labrador. The museum welcomes 45,000 visitors a year who can watch shipbuilding and associated trades being carried out (for example, a blacksmiths forge making anchors and a carpentry workshop making pulleys) as well as viewing exhibits and information panels on Basque maritime history. Our group were given a personal guided tour of the museum and then met with dignitaries from Pasaia including the mayor. 

The rediscovery and projection of traditional skills and culture form an important strand in the regeneration of the town of Pasaia, situated on two sides of a long creek east of San Sebastian. It’s not just about shipbuilding, but all the associated activities which make the area special  – the pottery exported to Canada to build the roofs of buildings for processing whale oil – the origin of the name ‘Red Bay’; cider production and the impact on vernacular architecture of the need to produce thousands of litres of cider for long sea voyages; forestry techniques to produce the right sort of wood for shipbuilding; music, etc. 

There is a strong emphasis on future generations. One particularly impressive project involved schoolchildren building a small flat-bottomed boat they could actually put to sea in. Our visit coincided with a bi-annual maritime festival which brought crowds of people into the small town. There was an impressive range of boats from different countries, including the Fowey-built Greyhound, a variety of exhibition stands, boat trips across the creek, mobile food outlets and activities for children. 

We hope to develop the relationship with Albaola and Pasaia over the next few years. The visit provided lots of inspiration for the development of Heritage Harbour activities, so watch this space.