NINETEEN SIXTY TWO – PART 92
Fowey Docks 1979
Michael L. Roach
I paid another visit to Fowey 8 weeks later on 27 August 1979, but not far into the docks – just far enough to take the attached photograph of a diesel road roller. This was quite a rare beast as it was a Wallis & Steevens Advance dating from 1975 and first registered on 1 November that year. It has not been taxed since 31 October 1995, but may still exist somewhere. The firm was taken over and wound up in 1981. Also present was the coaster Valfragoso of Vigo in north-east Spain near the Portuguese border. On the way home to West Cornwall I stopped at Treesmill to photograph the up motorail train, a train I did not see often living where I did.
Fortyfive years later I was able to watch the ships at Fowey from the comfort of my own home as Monday 1 July approached. On the Friday, Saturday and Sunday there were no large ships in the Port of Fowey. Soon after 01.00 on Monday 1 July a ship sailed into the port and moored up. It was the MV Vitality, a UK-flagged British general cargo ship of 3 – 4,000 tonnes, which was nice to see, as most ships are foreign. The fleet of ships named ….....ity have been a feature of British shipping for many decades and sixty years ago were a common site in small ports and harbours across Devon and Cornwall from Penzance to Teignmouth. Vitality measures 90 metres by 15.4 metres.
It took two working days to load Vitality which then appeared to wait for the rising tide before sailing at about 20.30 on Tuesday 2 July 2024, taking a half hour to reach the open sea. The ship had set out on a 14-day journey to Egypt.
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Stranger in the camp
Jon Hird
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