The old saying "any more for the Skylark?" will be heard again this summer after a 25-year break.

From May onwards, a pleasure boat will operate between the Palace and West piers during the summer holiday season for the first time since 1976.

And the new boat, currently undergoing refurbishment at Brighton Marina, will be named after the most famous Brighton pleasure boat of all - the Skylark.

Ever since the arrival of the railway, daytrippers have been taken for spins out to sea by fishermen keen to supplement their income through the leisure trade.

The most renowned skipper was Fred Collins, who even provided an on-board brass band to entertain his working-class customers. But the sight of boats landing on the beach died out in the mid-70s when the Marina opened and moorings in a safe harbour were provided.

T

he last pleasure boat, the Peace and Plenty, was run by fisherman Alan Hayes, 55, of Wheatfield Way, Moulsecoomb, Brighton, who counted former Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher among his passengers. Now, following the success of Brighton Fishing Museum in the King's Road Arches, the much-missed Skylark is being relaunched.

Coun Andy Durr, credited with getting the museum up and running, said a 24ft wooden fishing boat from Newhaven had been bought for the purpose.

It was being repainted and fitted out with a new exhaust and water cooling system at the Marina prior to its maiden voyage on May 11.

That's the day Mr Durr is made Mayor of Brighton and Hove. He hopes to turn up in maritime style - at the helm of the Skylark, before making his way to the town hall for the civic ceremony.

Coun Durr said the venture had been made possible thanks to grants totalling £98,000 - half of which came from a European fishing industry fund. The cash had helped refurbish four derelict arches for a variety of uses, ranging from a research facility for Brighton University students to a fish-smoking business.

One of the arches is now a workshop containing tools and machinery to maintain the Skylark, which will be hauled up the shingle beach with an hydraulic winch.

Mr Durr said: "The first Skylark was operated by Fred Collins in Victorian times, and it was a major attraction. "Collins was a fisherman and a showman. The boat was effectively a fairground at sea. He even had a band on board. They used to go fishing in the morning, wash the boats down, rig them out with flags and bunting, and go boating in the afternoon. It was an emblem of the seaside, and that is what we want to recreate.

"The new Skylark will be licensed to carry 12 people. The design dates back to about 1900 and it is a classic Brighton beach boat. We are checking the hull, the engine is being completely overhauled and we are taking off the small wheelhouse so the tiller can be used in the traditional way. It will bring back a lot of memories for older people and will be a new experience for the younger generation."

A section at the fishing museum is devoted to the history of the Skylark, which in Collins' day carried 80 people. When Collins died in 1912, aged 79, Brighton came to a standstill for his funeral, with thousands of mourners lining the route of the procession. Now Coun Durr has ensured that the old seadog's legacy to the town will live on, subject, of course, to the weather.

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