Anchor donated in act of goodwill
A CONDOR anchor and its chain have been donated to the Guernsey Museum & Galleries at Castle Cornet.
The anchor is one of two being replaced after 25 years in service between the islands and the UK on Commodore Goodwill.
It weighs 3.5 tonnes, measures three metres by 2.7 metres and is made from galvanised steel.
Rather than scrap it, the ferry company wanted to find a new home, so approached Matt Harvey at Guernsey Museums who gladly accepted the donation.
The anchor and a short length of chain were delivered to St Peter Port after being removed from the ship while she was in her regular dry dock in Falmouth last month.
Condor CEO Paul Luxon said he was pleased that part of Condor’s recent history could be, in future, viewed by islanders and visitors alike alongside artefacts from the island’s seafaring past.
‘Guernsey enjoys a rich maritime history and our own sailing in Channel Islands waters dates back to 1947 when Commodore Shipping first started freight services,’ he said.
‘It is therefore appropriate for us to give something back to the local community so we were delighted when Guernsey Museums agreed to take the anchor.’
The Goodwill maintains the essential freight supply line between Portsmouth and the Channel Islands.
Mr Luxon said they had calculated that the vessel, and the two anchors, had sailed 1.9 million miles together over the past quarter century.
Guernsey Museums social history curator Matt Harvey was thankful that Condor had the foresight to offer the piece to the museum.
‘Guernsey Museums and Galleries are absolutely delighted to have received a modern ship’s anchor for their maritime collection and are grateful to Condor,’ he said.
‘This impressive item will be held in reserve storage in the short term and the museum has a number of maritime projects in the pipeline that the anchor would be considered for. Currently the museum team are working on developing a new Maritime Museum at Castle Cornet so we are proud now to be able to preserve it for future generations.’
The transfer was made possible by the St Peter Port Harbour Authority crane and the lifting and transport team from Bob Froome & Sons.
