Ship loses rigging as charity continues search for buyer

Motorists driving on the A63 by William Wright Dock may have noticed that the heavy yards – the large spars that the sails hang from – have come down.

The ship, owned by a charity with its roots in Hull, has been up for sale for more than a year.

Chief executive Chris Law, of the Tall Ships Youth Trust, said there was still "significant" interest in the vessel, which has recently been in dry dock at Dunston (Ship Repair) Ltd.

The trust is hoping to achieve a price of 4.5m for the 50m-long vessel, which carries a massive 949 sq m of sail.

Ms Law, of the Portsmouth-based trust, the UK's oldest and largest sailing organisation, said volunteers would be working on the ship until the middle of next month.

She said: "There's still a significant level of interest – surprisingly in today's market – but it is still one of the best maintained ships around.

"Vessels like this tend to degenerate and we decided to take her out and do some work. We are just doing routine maintenance, so the ship remains in class. To maintain that class you have to keep the vessel in working order.

"We had the opportunity with the cranes to get the yards off because they are quite heavy and get the rigging down. They need to be tarred, as without it they dry out and crack. There's also the pulleys and lifting gear to do and while there are lots of volunteers, it is a good opportunity to do that."

The Prince William, which has a steel hull was converted to a brig by Appledore Shipyard in Devon and named in her home port of Glasgow in 2001.