Boat Stories - News

Winner of the North Devon Flourishing Culture Awards 2025!

Thu, 26 Jun 2025 11:09:04 GMT

Boat Stories is delighted to be named winner of the digital, film and moving image award 2025! Mandi and I went up to collect the award (a lovely Dartington Crystal goblet.) Huge Congratulations to our film crew, our wider team and of course all our film stars. The award was given to us by Joe Rossi now of Devon Film Logistics who briefly appears in our Fishing for Clovelly Herring Film. And compere for the evening was Seth Conway who we got to know when he filmed some of our stories as news items for ITV.

12 Chances to see Boat Stories films on a big screen this Spring!

Mon, 29 Feb 2016 11:42:06 GMT

There are twelve chances to see Boat Stories on the big screen this Spring. Why not book one now?
Kicking off with West Buckland on Saturday 5th March fish n chips from 7pm films from 8pm. The boat stories films will be introduced by director & producer Jo Stewart-Smith who will also take questions. This is part of the Beaford Arts season & the film shows will be available in four more village halls - tickets from Beaford Arts at various prices. http://www.beaford-arts.org.uk/index.php?id=202

Tuesday 15th March at Exeter Phoenix from 7pm. Cameramen Matt Biggs and Simon Vacher will join director Jo Stewart-Smith for a Q and A. If you are filming locally or interested in getting started or got any technical questions this is the event for you. Tickets £4 http://www.exeterphoenix.org.uk/events/boat-stories-qa-with-director-and-crew/

"Was amazing to watch tonight!! Love where we all live'' Dion Hunt via facebook boat stories north devon

Wednesday 16th March at Shirwell village hall Doors open 2 pm. tickets Beaford Arts.
Thursday 17th March talk and film show from Jo for Coastwise North Devon. 9.45-11.45 Henry Williamson room Barnstaple library. All welcome tickets on the door. More info www.coastwisenorthdevon.org.uk
Wednesday 23 March Langtree village hall. 7pm Beaford Arts.

Friday 25th & Sat 26th March The Bideford Pilot is on the big screen at Bideford Cinema before the main feature Disney's The Finest Hours. This is the film about which so many people have said they really didn't know this piloting work happened on their doorstep.. www.bidefordcinema.org.uk

Friday 8th April Woolacombe village hall 7.30 pm Beaford Arts

Friday 22-24 April Ilfracombe film festival. Support Ilfracombe's very first film festival with its sea theme. All ten boat stories films will be shown individually before various features. Find them on facebook for more information.
Friday 13th May High Bickington community centre. Doors & bar open 7.30pm films from 8.30 Beaford Arts.

"Brilliant evening. Lovely local community feel to it. Well done everybody" Pam Ley via facecbook

Boat Stories Family Wheel

Mon, 21 Dec 2015 12:13:01 GMT

Instead of the twelve days of Christmas we have the ten boat stories' skippers or crew all linked to each other in this fun animation. And each spoke of the wheel also links them to one of the three local RNLI stations: Ilfracombe, Appledore or Clovelly. Enjoy!
Animation by Joanne Beech, written by Jo Stewart-Smith, music by Alice Bollen (from our gig film)

I planned to do two graphics for boat stories. One was an interactive map which followed the journeys our boats made along the coast, out to Lundy, around the estuary and up river. And the second a boat stories 'family tree' highlighting the links and family connections between the people I'd been filming from Clovelly round to Ilfracombe. I could only afford to do one and in the end 'the family tree' won, partly because of a conversation I had with Beccy MacDonald while we were staying on Lundy about the links between the different films.

Beccy is the first port of call (via the radio) for all the boats visiting Lundy and I could have put the island in the centre of the wheel. Dave Gabe who goes up river on Cheeky Monkey, for instance, was once the Lundy boatman in the days before the passenger ferry. But Lundy of course is one of our stories and I chose the RNLI because I'd wanted to make a film about one of the local RNLIs and the family networks - one of the many stories that 'got away' as I could only make ten films. I had many more anecdotes than I could fit in but I had to choose an order for the boats and once I'd done that I couldn't jump across the wheel -otherwise it would have become a spider's web.

Beccy walking up from the beach and quay on Lundy

Matt Biggs filming Appledore RNLI's Molly Hunt from the pilot boat

I spotted Jo Beech's work posted on the Sea Ilfracombe facebook site. She'd done a little animation of all the events going on during the festival including the boat stories film premiere - an animated poster if you like- and it was brilliant. I wanted one for boat stories! She was going to draw the boats but we decided to use my photographs because they are colourful and instantly recognisable to locals who know the boats. Check out Jo's website icanlearn2.com to see the animations she's done to market events or help put complex scientific ideas across. As she says "we create animated videos to help explain and educate anyone about anything."

drawing & animation by Joanne Beech photographs & text Jo Stewart-Smith

Merry Christmas, Seasons Greetings and Happy New Year to all our lovely boat stories skippers and crew and filmmakers and to all our followers and funders. Stick with us and watch this space - I've a few more blogs to put up... Jo x
Jo Stewart-Smith Producer Boat Stories.

BOAT STORIES STILL BUSY!!

Wed, 02 Dec 2015 10:42:32 GMT

Seth Conway from ITV WestCountry filming Ben Bengey to launch our ITV web series!

Boat Stories DVD available from our shop

We haven't finished yet. We will have a limited edition of a blu ray out in time for Christmas for those of you who prefer to watch on blu ray.
And stay with us - we have a fun little animation which we will also release before Christmas.

For regular updates and news on Boat Stories follow us on facebook Boat Stories North Devon or twitter @boat_stories

A lot has happened in the last month! We released our 10th film 'The Bideford Pilot' watch this fascinating film on our film pages. Jo and Ben Bengey (young fisherman film) met up with Seth Conway from ITV to film a broadcast package to launch our new web series on ITV Westcountry. The following week Seth filmed Stephen Perham (Clovelly Herrings) for a second broadcast piece. They are releasing one of our films every week on their website - and this is the first time they've done anything like this - so very pleased to be chosen!!

We released the Boat Stories DVD which is available from our website 'shop' and several museums, TICs and shops in North Devon (details on shop page.)

We've appeared in the Journal and Jo's article on Boat Stories is out in Exmoor Magazine - winter edition.

And TWO of our films Fishing for Clovelly Herring and Salmon Netting on the Taw and Torridge are part of the official jury selection for Bath Film Festival 25th anniversary. Only 25 short films are being shown across the whole festival fortnight and we've got 2 (out of 2 entered) selected so HUGE congratulations to the team!! Festival runs from 3-13 December.

TWO OF OUR FILMS MADE THE OFFICIAL JURY SELECTION!!!

Boat Stories Celebrates with Gala Screening

Tue, 08 Sep 2015 14:02:59 GMT

A gala screening event at the Landmark Theatre in Ilfracombe on Friday 4 September 2015 celebrated the completion of Boat Stories, a series of short films about local people who live their lives connected to boats and fishing in North Devon. This was the first chance for the public to see the whole series of ten, five minute films on the big screen with the added bonus of hearing from and chatting with some of the characters in the films and the film makers themselves.

Boat Stories collaborated with the Museum of Barnstaple and North Devon's Fishing for History Project to organise the Ilfracombe Event and Museum Development Manager, Alison Mills commented:
" the films have done a great job in capturing the way in which North Devon people interact with our landscape - which is such an important part of how this area has become the beautiful place it is."

" I would single out the salmon fishing (Salmon Netting on the Taw & Torridge) & Steve Perham (Fishing for Clovelly Herring) films as vital in capturing what may be the last few practitioners of traditional fishing methods, but I also greatly enjoyed the other films - and the obvious concern of the other fishermen about how they can protect as well as prosper from our maritime resources."

The production of these insightful and professionally produced films was made possible in large part by funding from Northern Devon FLAG. Steve Pitcher, Chair of Northern Devon FLAG and North Devon Coast AONB Partnership applauded the work of film producer Jo Stewart-Smith: "The films are inspirational and are a great showcase for the beauty and activity that are found on the North Devon Coast. Above all it is the people talking about their lives and livelihoods that makes them so good. As the Northern Devon Fisheries Local Action Group (FLAG) we were very pleased to support the making of these films and to secure funding for them. Apart from the high quality of the films they are also an excellent record of the strong fishing heritage we have here in North Devon. Everyone should see them!"

This may the completion of the production phase of Boat Stories but it is by no means the end. Amanda McCormack, Creative Director of North Devon Moving Image (NDMI), says the objective of all NDMI's projects is to create, collect and share short films about life in North Devon. She says "The first eight films from Boat Stories are available now to view on the Boat Stories website.

The complete series will be available online following our final free public screening event at Bideford Cinema on Friday 16 October 2015. Beyond this we are hoping to distribute compilation DVDs to libraries, museums and information centres so as many people as possible can get to see these valuable (and entertaining) local social documentary films."

Exciting times for Boat Stories

Sun, 30 Aug 2015 09:08:35 GMT

One of our toughest challenges has been to get the last three films finished for the Sea Ilfracombe festival premiere on Friday 4th September. With the deadline looming, I planned to choose less ambitious, simpler films. Instead, we've taken on greater challenges. In April we started following the work of the Bideford Pilot and crew as they head out to meet big ships and escort them into the estuary. I'd seen the pilot boat at work many times - but until I started researching this film, I had no idea quite how dramatic and skilled their job is.. Watch this evocative trailer from Matt Biggs, Artaura Productions - coming soon!

THE BIDEFORD PILOT - TRAILER from Matt Biggs on Vimeo.

The Bideford Pilot will premiere at Sea Ilfracombe and then we will hold it back to show again in Bideford Friday 16th October.

Several of our followers asked us to make a diving film. I was wary, because as soon as you start filming underwater professionally, stringent health and safety rules kick in, adding to the cost of the film. However we had an offer we couldn't refuse from Rich Stevenson and his professional dive team from Diving and Marine Solutions. They wanted to work with boat stories and bravely agreed to film both topside and underwater.

We also had a lovely welcome from Shaun Galliver and Ilfracombe Sub Aqua Club. The result: a lively, colourful film, Every Dive is an Adventure will also premiere at Sea Ilfracombe and be released shortly after.

August has seen us working once again with Mark Brindle and Stu Gaunt from Maniac films and jumping on a boat from Ilfracombe harbour. Right from the beginning I wanted to make a film about a young fisherman starting out in a tough industry.

We were lucky to find eighteen year old Ben Bengey. I showed him and his family a version of our final film 'A Life in the Day of a Young Fisherman' at the end of last week. He tweeted 'epic to see my film, can't wait for everyone else to see it #exciting times' Phew! He likes it! It is always a worry. (Now we just have colour grade, music and sound mix to go...)

So we are nearly there!

I promised that every film would be different. But after we released our first film Lobster Potting and Berried Hens, last June to an amazing reaction - the big question for me was would we - could we keep up the quality? Judge for yourselves by coming along to one of our FREE film events, with a chance to hear from some of the filmmakers, fishermen and skippers. Details on our home and events page. As I write the stalls have already sold out at the Landmark, Ilfracombe, so don't forget to book your free tickets.

I'm getting that sinking feeling - the realisation that I've been out on our last boat stories - boat trip - unless I can think of any more excuses!!

July 31st, 2015

Fri, 31 Jul 2015 21:27:54 GMT

Boat Stories has been very busy during June and July. Simon Vacher and I finished editing our 7th film set on Lundy, featuring the work of warden Beccy Macdonald. We wrote the blog, distributed the film and did a fair bit of publicity. Martin Hesp in the western morning news picked up on the back story of MS Oldenburg, the Lundy ferry, and the Journal did a piece on the effects of marine litter on our wildlife. Please watch and share the film and read the rambling blog (luckily I have to keep my films down to five minutes!) on our film page. As an extra treat there are also four outtakes from the film on the video blog including one on Mortehoe's seals.

We also began our 9th film! Working with Rich Stevenson from Dive Solutions we filmed Seasearch on a couple of exploratory dives - recording the underwater wildlife along the North Devon coast. Lundy is of course well known as a fabulous local diving spot and most diving charters head straight out to the island. However our hosts, Ilfracombe & North Devon Sub Aqua Club, wanted to promote diving even closer to home - literally on their doorstep. Local dives are full of surprises - because we they in unknown territory. A quote from Shaun Galliver, chair of the club, became the title for this film: Every Dive is an Adventure. We have been busy editing this colourful film and are now in the final stages - working on music and the sound mix.

We also continued working with Matt Biggs from Artaura Productions on our 8th film - the Bideford pilot -following as the title suggests the work of the Bideford pilot. Until I researched this film I wasn't sure what the pilot and the pilot boat actually did. I guessed and I guessed wrongly. Matt and I were impressed by the skill and teamwork of the pilot crew and how matter of fact they were about an often difficult and dangerous job. On the rushes Matt can be heard saying something like, “have you got hold of me Jo? I’ll be really fed up if I lose this film now.” All will be revealed when the film is released!

We've also been busy preparing materials for various events and organisations which have been showing the films. And for our own two events showing all the films to the public. Put these dates in your diary: Friday 4th September in Ilfracombe to open Sea Ilfracombe festival and Friday 16th October in Bideford. This is your chance to watch all the films and meet the contributors, filmmakers and funders. Tickets are free but you need to book - details on our home page.

BOAT STORIES LOVES LUNDY - TAKE 2

Sun, 24 May 2015 15:01:27 GMT

RAF rescue skilfully dropping crew member on to the pitching deck

Last September, Simon kayaked and I swam with seals. This time we arrived at the perfect time to see Jenny's cove, seabird city, packed with seabirds. Since the eradication of rats on the island, seabird numbers have really taken off - particularly the eerie-sounding shearwaters and comical puffins.

As always, we were brilliantly looked after by Jerry & the crew of the Oldenburg, Beccy & the conservation team, outdoor & maintenance, the Tavern staff and housekeeping. (Actually if you stay in the lodge, you get to make the bed for the next visitor.) On Lundy that’s bound to be someone fascinating and in my case it was someone with a job I will covet (in a few years time) Landmark librarian. Job description: touring all the properties to renew their books! Big thank you to the team, too numerous to mention here, together they are such a great team and as so often on an island most manage to hold down several different roles.

Roughly eight months after we dramatically lost a camera over the cliff, Simon and I returned to Lundy to complete our little film. I'm not giving much of the story away because I don't want to spoil the film -but a big thank you to Lundy for welcoming us back again for Take 2! It was a rough crossing this time so not everyone enjoyed watching our surprise visitor (left.)Totally amazing to see the skill of winchman and pilot as they safely landed their crew member on to the platform of a wildly pitching ship – perfect training for tough conditions. We were met off the Oldenburg by Beccy (warden), Jonny (outdoor assistant) & Mike (cargo coordinator) and had one and a half glorious sunny days to race around the island filming Beccy & others at work and seabirds and seals! An easterly wind meant not as many seals as we hoped, but forewarned, Beccy knew where to find some.

Lundy's 'iconic' grey seals

Beccy monitoring seabird populations & Simon filming

MS Oldenburg heading back to Ilfracombe

Not an elusive person - the new Anthony Gormley sculpture

puffins - one of Lundy's success stories

little soay lamb

It’s the beginning of the busy season but most of my photographs are empty of people. This wasn’t by choice. I was looking for visitors to film – and was struck by how few I met were from North Devon. Lundy's a tiny island, but it has so many nooks and crannies it’s easy to get away and think you’ve got it to yourself. On most days, at least until the school holidays, the Oldenburg has spare seats. If you hear a good forecast, you can check the information line 01271 863636 and turn up on the morning she sails to get seats. Why not treat yourself?

Lovely quote from Beccy which probably won't make the film: 'Lundy has a very special place in many people's hearts. It seems to be a place that once you visit you really want to keep coming back. It gets under your skin, people adopt it -it becomes their island, they become Lundyites. It's common that people come over for a day trip and we'll see them again and a few months later they come and stay'. You have been warned!

Thanks also to lovely and enthusiastic cameraman, Simon Vacher. He wasn’t seasick, we didn’t lose any kit. He had fun playing with his new camera and long lens. Fingers crossed, if I can get it down to five minutes, we will have a great little film for you –coming soon.

Simon Vacher at work on Lundy

Four shouts in one busy week for Ilfracombe lifeboats

Fri, 10 Apr 2015 12:32:15 GMT

The sun is shining, people are back on the water and this Easter week Ilfracombe lifeboats launched to four different emergencies! Boat Stories was there for one of the shouts..

Spirit of Derbyshire on her way within 8 minutes of the pagers sounding!

Followed minutes later by the inshore lifeboat

The pager in Andrew Bengey’s pocket went off while he was explaining how he juggles being volunteer coxswain of the Ilfracombe all weather lifeboat (ALB) with running his accountancy and diving boat businesses. “That could be me going now” he said, “I’ll know in a minute.” If I had a minute before I had to run to jump onboard a life boat, headed who knows where, I’d maybe turn off my laptop, check where my wallet is, definitely go to the loo – but Andrew carried on chatting so I didn’t really expect this to turn into a genuine shout! Andrew explained that he no longer turns out for the inshore lifeboat (ILB) - the wear and tear of bouncing about on an open boat too rough for him at 53. Then the pager went off again, Andrew got up and with the words ‘see you later’ left the office. No time wasted on phonecalls to find out what was needed, no stopping to pick up a jacket. By the time I’d put away my notebook and reached the office reception, he was long gone. Something in the tone of that pager must have told him ‘the big boat’ as the receptionist called it was needed.

I drove the few minutes to the harbour careful to let any car behind me pass in case it was an RNLI volunteer rushing to the lifeboat slipway. I needn’t have worried. By the time I got to the harbour, a slightly puffed Andrew (having run from his office) was already aboard with five other crew in full RNLI kit and by the time I parked, the Spirit of Derbyshire was on her way only an incredible eight minutes since that pager had sounded! A few minutes later the inshore lifeboat, Deborah Brown II, with four more crew was hot in her wake.

I walked along the quay past S&P fish shop and saw someone waving from the far cliffs on the Hele side of the harbour. The lifeboat was headed in that direction but as Andrew told me later because of the prevailing wind and the strong swell they had to swing out first to get inshore safely. They went as close to the cliffs as they could to reassure the casualty, while the smaller ILB manoeuvred into the rocks. (The weather wasn’t great – visibility was poor and the swell so bad that over in Appledore they postponed taking the giant barge carrying aircraft carrier parts out over Bideford bar.) The emergency call to the Coastguard was made by a group taking part in the popular and growing sport of coasteering. One of their clients was taken ill while in the water. Becky who was onboard the ILB is also a coasteerer and went into the water with another crew member and out onto the rocks to talk to the group. Because of the swell they decided it was safer to take the casualty around to a small beach to get him onboard the ILB. Out at sea he was transferred to the larger Mersey class boat which with its wheelhouse is warmer and drier, there’s more space to administer first aid and a less bumpier ride home.

In fact the ride home was too short for the casualty who had recovered enough to talk to the crew and was relishing the experience. He was handed over to the paramedics at the lifeboat slip where the launch crew, the coastguard and presumably those volunteers who didn’t get there in time were also waiting. The whole slick operation from the first pager to the transfer to the ambulance took less than half an hour! I spotted harbour master Rob Lawson directing the ambulance which was waiting by Verity back to the lifeboat slip. I was left totally impressed that ten volunteers with busy working lives from all across Ilfracombe (more if you count the launch crews) could drop whatever they were doing and launch the boats within eight short minutes. (Later I spoke to Maggs Ashton from the diving club who said she’d once been abandoned in a restaurant while her husband answered his pager with no money to pay the bill.) And as anyone who lives in Ilfracombe knows all this while the lifeboat station is being rebuilt ready to receive the new lifeboat.

Casualty safely rescued, lifeboat back in harbour

The crew of the ILB talking to the coastguard & paramedics after the successful rescue

I spoke to the volunteer crews in the few minutes of de-briefing and cameraderie after a successful mission before they all rushed back to their real jobs and lives – one had his pyjamas on under his lifejacket and togs. The job wasn’t over for Andrew. They tied the Spirit of Derbyshire alongside the Sparkling Star (the trawler that stars in one of our films). Andrew had to return later, when the tide allowed, to take the lifeboat back to her temporary mooring and ready her to go out again. It won’t be the Spirit of Derbyshire for much longer. In May Andrew will head to Poole to sail Ilfracombe’s brand new Shannon class lifeboat back to the harbour. Boat Stories will keep you posted on her progress.

the crew of Ilfracombe AWB minutes after a successful rescue

Meanwhile as I was writing this blog another shout for both lifeboats to some kayakers who’d got into difficulty off Morte Point. They’d gone out paddling on a calm, sunny day and suddenly the tide had turned against them. The Bristol Channel has one of the highest tide races in the world with up to ten metres difference between high and low tide. As Andrew said “there’s an enormous amount of water moving at speed either up or down Channel. One cubic metre of water weighs one ton, and there is far more water than that moving out there. Trying to paddle against that sort of weight will tire out even the strongest and fittest person very quickly, and it is easy for a pleasant day out to turn quickly into a disaster.” Luckily the RNLI was quickly on the scene to bring both kayakers and kayaks into safe harbour. The week started with an attempt to rescue a moored yacht which wasn’t rising – like it should with the tide and ended with the rescue of a yacht and crew off Lee Bay which had engine difficulties and was stranded in a thick sea mist.

I might have told you more about the Ilfracombe RNLI volunteers – like the fact that they have five women in their crew – but my chat with Andrew was cut short as he left the office at a run! If you volunteer for the RNLI you have to be ready to go - for you never know when or where the next shout will come from. Boat Stories is also following & supporting Clovelly RNLI & Appledore RNLI & of course the volunteers all around our coast. Helmets off to all our brilliant RNLI volunteers!

Appledore lifeboat station's Molly Hunt.

Boat Stories in Devon Life

Wed, 25 Mar 2015 17:08:08 GMT

We are in this month's (April) issue of Devon Life! A three page spread with some lovely images, a quick rundown of all the films so far and our wonderful contributors - a confession that it wasn't all plain sailing - and ten ideas to get out on a boat in North Devon. We couldn't fit everyone in - but we tried!

And below in case you can't read it in the article are twelve ideas for getting out on the boat in North Devon (two extra on this page!) We timed it to celebrate ALL the boats getting ready to go back out on the water for Easter. Some commercial boats are already in - the rest of the Ilfracombe boats will be going 'over the harbour wall' this weekend -why not go along & watch - check out the harbour webcam to see when its happening.

So thinking now of all those skippers and crew busy painting and scrubbing. I too have been scrubbing the bilges -just taken a break because my fingers are frozen!! And remember if you want to book a boat trip out on the water in glorious North Devon - you can find write ups of many different boat trips, ideas and contact details on our boat trips page.The season for boats licensed to carry passengers opens again at the beginning of April.

Jo’s twelve ideas for getting out on a boat in North Devon.

Catch MS Oldenburg for a ferry trip to Lundy – look out for the first seabirds arriving to breed
Pretend to be a lobster potter for the day in the Silver Spirit
Potter gently up the river Torridge in the Cheeky Monkey or the Fender
Find the highest cliffs in England & old iron ore mines on the Ilfracombe Princess
Hop on the Appledore & Instow ferry to cross the estuary.
Dive the wrecks or England’s first marine reserve, off Lundy, with Obsession
Tour round Clovelly harbour in Neptune
Ride in the restored lifeboat, Hampshire Rose, out of Ilfracombe
Attempt sea kayaking and look out for Dave the Dolphin.
Hit the secret, offshore surf beaks with the catamaran, Hecate
Explore Lynmouth’s cliffs & gorges from the Balaena
Swim with seals near Lundy, from the Jessica Hettie.

And of course you can watch our films!