WW2 yacht sailing from Lowestoft to raise money for charity
'Estrallita' is owned by Tony Billson, from Diss, who spent five years painstakingly restoring her
Last updated 20th May 2022
A yacht used to rescue British soldiers at Dunkirk is setting off from Lowestoft to raise money for two charities.
Royal Navy veterans Tony Billson, Tommy Morrison and Michael Hawkins, who served on HMS Bulwark in the 1970s, will set off from East Suffolk and are headed for Poole at the end of the week.
They are raising money for Jenny Lind Children’s Hospital and the armed forces charity SSAFA.
"She has never put me off from the challenge that I had with her"
The yacht, 'Estrallita' is owned by Tony Billson, from Diss, who spent five years painstakingly restoring her and researching her history.
He told us what the historic boat means to him: "I had no idea that it would end up in this situation. But, she's been a great help to me because I did have a mental breakdown six years ago and a friend of mine said, you need to have a purpose in life.
"She has never put me off from the challenge that I had with her. Even though everyone else said I'd lost my marbles buying her, considering the state that she was in. I thought 'no, no, no'- this is going to be good. Five years later, I've got her to a point where we can go to sea.
"My great friend Tommy Morrison who's coming on the trip with me, well he was obviously in gods-waiting room, but now he's got a new lease on life and he's loving everything that he's doing."
Tony also told us how they're all feeling before they set sail: "Oh we are absolutely looking forward to it! We have got the boat ready this time after we sailed to Ramsgate last year and raised nearly £1,000 for combat stress, in two weeks.
"It was a great thing and it means a lot to me that. This year the boat is absolutely 'tickety boo'. She is ready to sail through any seas."
What's the story behind the yacht?
Tony found the Estrallita in a poor state of repair in Ramsgate, with no idea about her history, which included tragedy, celebrity, name changes and a commendable wartime record in Poole.
During his research, Tony discovered that the Estrallita was used by the Royal Navy between 1940 and 1945 as a harbour patrol boat in Poole, defended against invasion and rescued downed pilots in the English Channel.
Her duties were to protect the harbour channels, and specifically to block the channels if there was an invasion by sinking designated Block Ships or as a last resort to sacrifice herself to delay any advance. Estrallita was one of six vessels deployed for this purpose but was the only one that was retained throughout the war.
It also operated as a Harbour Patrol vessel at Poole during the Second World War.
In 1960s the vessel was owned by Hughie Green as a place to stay during the summer season going from resort to resort and it was on one of these excursions from Shoreham to Morecombe that Green became involved in a rescue off the coast of Cornwall after spotting red flares at sea.
What does the voyage involve?
The journey will include a Dunkirk plaque-laying ceremony taking place in Portsmouth and a trip up the Thames to take part in the 40-year Falklands War commemorations.
Lynn Crombie, NNUH Fundraising Co-ordinator said: “It is fantastic that a little boat with such a colourful history which has saved lives is now going to heling to raise money to improve the lives of our young patients at the Jenny Lind.
"We wish Tony and his crew a safe time at sea as they embark on this wonderful coastal journey.”