Scarborough pleasure boats - the Bilsdale, Coronia and Royal Lady
Picture above : Coronia built by Warrens of New Holland Lincolnshire and launched 4/5/1935 and named by Mrs Ellis wife of the owner John Sherrif Ellis (jack) She was 129.9 ft in length, bredth 26 ft, and had a draught of 6ft. Powered by two National RVM6 six cylinder heavy oil engines 240 bhp each. giving her a top speed of 13.25 knots at 600 rpm. 9.75knots at 450 rpm and 6 knots at 300rpm. Upon arrival at Scarborough she had two funnels and was certified to carry 472 passengers. The following summer she had one of her funnels removed and her capacity was increased to carry 500 passengers but kudos was lost to New Royal Lady with two funnels the passengers favoured her. It was realized the funnel removal from Coronia was a mistake and it was replaced a couple of years later. The Coronia was sold to the Johnson family.
Royal Lady(not to be mistake for New Royal Lady built three years later) Royal Lady was built for Thomas Round of Scarborough by J Crown and son Sunderland in 1933. Overall length 132.6, beam 24.0, depth 15.6 to promenade deck. Powered by two five cylinder Crossley diesels. Tom Round originally a salvage man from Sunderland owner of a number of Steam trawler and drifters became almost obsessed in the battle to have the biggest fastest motor pleasure cruiser out of Scarborough. Longest, fastest most funnels, equated to most passengers. Jack Ellis took up the challenge when he had perhaps the most elegant of all built at New Holland in 1935 the 130ft Coronia( details to follow)
Bilsdale was a coal burning paddle steamer built of steel in Preston as Lord Roberts by Allsups and Co for Crosthwaites and registered in Middlesborough. Her dimensions lenght 135ft, beam 21.4ft, depth 9.7ft her official no. was 111060. It is likely that she worked as a harbour tug on the Tees throughout the winter and turned to the more lucrative task of pleasure cruising during the summers. She became unpopular with the visitors when Royal Lady arrived as a gleaming new vessel and 1934 was her last season.
Written by George Westwood.
OTHER ARTICLES
• The Coronia, Regal Lady and Dunkirk in World War II
• The U-Boat campaign in the First World War
• The national RNLI and the Scarborough lifeboat of 1861.
• Tunny fishing in Scarborough in the 1930's
• Three Scarborough trawlers sunk by mines in 1920
• World war one outbreak. The war effort in Scarborough
• The Beam trawl and the Otter trawl
• Harwood Brierleys description of Scarborough harbour at the opening of the 20th century
• The Allen and Truman Scarborough fishing families
• Scarboroughs Lifeboat - the huge storms of October 28th 1880
• The 200 year history of scarboroughs RNLI
• Famous fishing families - the Whitby Storr family and the Leadleys
• The loss of the Scarborough trawler Heritage in 1993
• The early years of the Scarborough Lifeboat
• Tommy Rowley - stories about loss of life at sea
• Watching for ships by the harbour walls in Scarborough
• When the Colliers came to Scarborough
• Scarboroughs Heyday of Inns,smuggling and illicit stills
• The port of Scarborough in the late 15th Century
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