IT all started with a run of the mill story way back in 2007 – an indentation left in the sand of Scarborough’s South Bay after repainting a pleasure steamer. Owner Tom Machin had two vessels, Coronia and Regal Lady, and he said to me “I might have a story for you”. It turned out the boats ran regular trips for tourists to Whitby and Bridligton but they were hit with red tape that prevented them from doing so. Initially it was thought they were were EU regulations – for which the likes of anti-EU groups took great delight in highlighting – but it was the UK’s misinterpretation of the rules which had hit his business. So started the desperate saga of a man just trying to keep his business afloat (pun intended). The irony was that both ships had crossed the English Channel to help with the Dunkirk evacuation as two of the many “little boats” – a longer journey. It was a classic example of regularly revisiting a story for updates on an ongoing story and I would like to think Tom was a trusted contact and a friend. This is the feature I wrote in 2010 (I will add some of the earlier articles for context later)…

FOR the past three years both the Coronia and Regal Lady pleasure steamers have been restricted, under British maritime regulations, to a maximum distance of 15 nautical miles – preventing them from sailing to either Whitby or Bridlington. Reporter IAN DUNCAN found his sea legs and took a short trip north to hear what passengers felt about the situation.

“She’s been a good ship, she helped out at Dunkirk in 1940.”

Donald Woolley, an 80-year-old former factory worker from Staleybridge, was holidaying in Scarborough and enjoyed a pint in the Regal Lady’s small bar.

He looked every inch the salty sea dog and takes as many trips as he can, on both the Coronia and Regal Lady, during his annual stay.

Owner Tom Machin said that Donald was the boat’s honorary captain. He added: “He’s been coming with us for 23 years, since we started, and while he’s here he nevermisses a trip.”

We headed north at a steady five and a half knots against a strong spring tide and Tom occasionally switched on a microphone to point out places of interest along the coast.

Under UK law, vintage pleasure cruisers – like the Coronia and the Regal Lady – are banned from travelling more than 15 nautical miles from their port of departure.

When challenged over this law, the Department of Transport previously stated it was following EU law but it was later revealed the UK government had devised its own interpretation of the law.

Tom used to run daily trips to both Whitby and Bridlington but, because both ports fell outside the maximum distance, it made better business sense to sail about six miles out of Scarborough and back.

During the Second World War both vessels were part of an armada of “little boats” which helped evacuate thousands of allied troops who were stranded on the beaches at Dunkirk.

Tom said: “I’ve just come back from Great Yarmouth. We were running trips out of there. It made headlines in the paper – the grand old lady returns.”

The Regal Lady was built in Great Yarmouth, by Fellows and Co, in 1930 and Tom was able to sail all the way to the vessel’s home port because it was just the crew on board.

He said: “After all these years everybody is still coming round asking when we are going to get Whitby trips back? They can’t understand why two miles makes such a difference.”

He added that there were several lifeboat stations along both routes and it would make more sense to place a limit on the maximum distance from a safe refuge. He said: “For the last three years we’ve been hit hard because of this.”

In 2007 more than 10,000 people signed a petition to protest against the regulations but, so far, nothing has been done to change the legislation.

Passenger Cheryl Kennedy, a holidaymaker from Wakefield, could not understand the restrictions. She said: “If an airplane was in trouble it wouldn’t fly back to London if it was halfway across Europe it would land at the nearest place.”

Alan Futty, from Huddersfield, agreed. He said: “My dad was born in Scarborough and I used to go on the Coronia as a child. It’d be nice to go to Whitby.

“I think they could go to Whitby and back, people would like to go to Whitby, it’d make more sense. We drove to Whitby the other day and it would’ve been nice to go by boat.”

Neil Armstrong, from Rotherham, added: “If they had a problem with safety you could understand it. It has an impeccable record so why change it? It’s health and safety gone mad.”

But Tom is hopeful that Scarborough’s MP will be able to speak to a government transport minister over the winter to try to get a change in the legislation.

He said: “We are hopeful that Robert Goodwill can get it back for us. He’s worked very hard to achieve it.”

We sailed as far as Burniston – the southern trips go as far as Filey – and as he headed back into Scarborough he admired the view and said: “It’s lovely, you can’t beat it, every day is different and even since we have left it has changed.

“At night, during the summer, when the sun’s setting over the castle – it’s brilliant.”

And only time will tell if he will be allowed to take passengers all the way to Whitby and Bridlington during the next holiday season.

From The Scarborough Evening News on Saturday, September 18, 2010.