Lightship 2000
 Lightship 2000, June 2007 | |
| History | |
|---|---|
 United Kingdom | |
| Name: | Light Vessel 14 |
| Operator: | Trinity House |
| Ordered: | September 1951 |
| Builder: | Philip and Son, Dartmouth, Devon |
| Cost: | £80,685 |
| Yard number: | 1246 |
| Launched: | 22 September 1953 |
| Commissioned: | 27 November 1953 |
| Fate: | Sold, 1991 |
| General characteristics [1][2] | |
| Type: | Lightvessel |
| Displacement: | 550 long tons (559 t) |
| Length: | 137 ft 3 in (41.83 m) o/a |
| Beam: | 25 ft (7.6 m) |
| Draught: | 15 ft (4.6 m) |
| Crew: | 7 |
| Aviation facilities: | Helipad (from 1975) |
Lightship 2000 (Welsh: Goleulong 2000) was a restored old red Lightvessel with a cafe and chapel on board situated in Cardiff Bay. During the redevelopment of Cardiff Bay, the Cardiff Bay Development Corporation called together the churches in Cardiff to discuss the role of Christianity in the Bay.[3] Lightship 2000 was the result of these discussions.
History
The ship was launched in 1953 and from that year until 1989 it was a working lightvessel in a number of locations around the UK, ending its working life at Rhossili on the Gower Peninsula to warn of the Helwick Swatch, a treacherous sandbank. It was purchased in 1993 and refurbished as a floating Christian centre.[4]
The ship closed in 2013 and in May 2015 it left Cardiff. It is planned to restore the ship, and for it to become a floating museum at Newnham on Severn.[5]
Chaplains
The Rev'd Peter Noble, former Moderator of the United Reformed Church Wales Synod, took over the post in March 2012 and since the closure of the ship continues to serve as Chaplain to the Bay.
Rev'd Monica Mills, a URC Minister, served as chaplain of Cardiff Bay[6] until early 2010. Mills died on 1 December 2010.[7]
References
- ↑ "The Ship". lightship2000.co.uk. 2012. Retrieved 22 September 2012.
- ↑ Klempau, Iris (2004). "Trinity House lightvessel No. 14". feuerschiffseite.de. Retrieved 22 September 2012.
- ↑ Lightship 2000 page in the Cardiff Bay website
- ↑ Article on the history of the Lightship on the official website
- ↑ "CARDIFF BAY'S MUCH-LOVED HELWICK LIGHTSHIP IS SAVED FROM THE SCRAPYARD". Penarth Daily News. 18 May 2015. Retrieved 30 November 2015.
- ↑ An article which mentions Monica's role as chaplain
- ↑ News of Monica's death from her final church.
External links
 |
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Helwick, Light Vessel 14 (1953). |