Holmwood on her mooring in Portland Harbor, 2003.
Holmwood was built in 1973 as an RMAS Fleet tender and served at Portland for over twenty years, acting as a ferry for the transfer of personnel to and from Navy vessels. During all her time at Portland, she had the same Bosun, Ken Wilks of Weymouth, who treated Holmwood as if she was his own. In the ship's paperwork, there are constant references to Mr. Wilks and his crew for the way they looked after the ship. It was to be this care that was the key to her survival.
Operation of Fleet tenders passed to a private company and Holmwood was transferred to Plymouth for a new but short life. With her advancing years and cutbacks in maintenance budgets, she soon became troublesome and after developing a number of faults which made her difficult to operate, finally, in 1997, she was laid up. To make matters worse the ship was then robbed of parts to keep other Fleet tenders running. She then suffered the final indignity of being towed to Portland and put on the disposal list.
During winter of 2002-3, local skipper and owner of Wey Chieftain Diving, Grahame Knott, was looking for a new challenge! And there it was! Partially flooded, bits missing all over the place, every electrical system dead, the main engine and generator partially dismantled, all on top of five years of neglect. It seemed at first glance an impossible task but underneath all the dirt and decay there was still a sound ship, thanks to her years with Ken Wilks and his crew. It has taken six months of hard work by Grahame and friends Richard Wood and Jerry James to get Holmwood back into operation. She has been to Plymouth for a survey and this time came back to Portland under her own power; Grahame was sure he heard a little mechanical cheer as she came through the harbour entrance! Now all the structural work, mechanics and electrical restoration is complete; although in need of a serious paint job the Holmwood is capable of going anywhere under her own power.
The future now looks bright for the ship as she is about to take on a new role as an exploration vessel. Conversion work this winter will provide accommodation for twelve divers; she will be fitted with compressors, a gas mixing system and sidescan sonar. Apart from the regular holiday diving the main objective is to locate and dive pre-20th century offshore wrecks. These wrecks are generally smaller and much more broken than the many wartime wrecks and unless located and surveyed will soon be lost forever. Grahame will work closely with people experienced in archaeology and recording techniques. Divers will be trained to record and survey wrecks with the minimum of disturbance. Courses will be run from Holmwood to cover all aspects of wreck location and survey. The main passenger hold below decks is to be converted into a visitors' centre so that when alongside members of the public may come aboard. The display will include diving gear, sonar and surveying equipment and information on current projects. There will also be a pictorial history of diving and wrecks in the Weymouth area. World heritage status has been granted to the local coastline and Grahame hopes that the Holmwood will bring the area's underwater heritage to the surface, but not literally of course!
Text and photo courtesy of Grahame Knott.