Onedin Star Jessica sails back into Dart Harbour on ‘poignant’ cruise ship visit

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The visit of cruise ship Minerva to Dart Harbour on Saturday June 14 was a special event in more ways for one very special visitor: the Onedin Line’s Jessica Benton.

Ms Benton played Elizabeth Onedin in the famous and hugely influential series, which filmed in Dartmouth throughout the 1970s and into 1980. She and her husband, renowned photographer Charlie Waite, described their visit as ‘a poignant experience’.

Ms Benton returned to Dartmouth onboard the Swan Hellenic ship MV Minerva. The ship’s visit was the second cruise ship visit of the season and saw the Dartmouth Cruise Ship Group working together to create the perfect visitors for passengers.

The group, made up of the Dartmouth Tourist Information Centre, Dart Harbour, Dartmouth Town Council and the Dartmouth Business Improvement District, put together a programme to welcome the ship and the reaction as very positive.

Tourist Information Manager Lesley Turner and Donna Watson went out onto the ship early in the morning with Tricia Daniels to chat to passengers about the town, its shops and visitor attractions.

TIC Staff stood on the Town Jetty throughout the day, handing out guides, maps and a special edition of the Dartmouth Chronicle with a feature aimed at passengers in it.

Dartmouth Town Mayor Rob Lyon and his Mayoress Di travelled out to the ship onboard the heritage trawler Pilgrim from Brixham, which also sailed around the ship, to the delight of passengers. The Mayor presented a Town Plaque to the Ship’s Captain, along with a painting of the Minerva kindly donated by Dartmouth artist Paul Barclay.

Dartmouth Cruise Ship Group Chairman Tricia Daniels said: “It was a lovely bonus to meet Jessica Benton and hear her memories of visiting the town – the last time she visited was when they filmed the show’s final two episodes more than 30 years ago!”

Dartmouth pulls together to attract more Cruise ship visits

The new Cruise ship group: (Back L-R) Deputy Mayor Rob Lyon, Dartmouth BID Chairman Paul Reach, town councilor Richard Cook and Harbour Master Capt Rob Giles. (Front – L-R) Dartmouth BID team member Francesca Johnson, Dartmouth Tourist Information Centre’s Sue Stone, Tricia Daniels and Dartmouth TIC manager Lesley Turner.

A group of Dartmouth organisations are pledging to work together to attract more cruise ships.

And the group is looking to make the most of the visits of ships so that businesses in the town benefit from each vessel that pulls in to harbour.

Representatives of the town’s BID, Dart Harbour, Dartmouth Town Council, Tourist Information Centre and advisor Tricia Daniels met to discuss strategies to attract more ships to town and how to make those ships’ passengers feel welcome in Dartmouth.

The group will be putting together a plan to bring more ships to the harbour and will be making a presentation about their progress at the TIC Springboard event in Dartmouth Market Square in the evening of Monday April 28. The presentation will outline the ways businesses can benefit from the visits.

Cruise ship trade is increasing worldwide and figures show visiting passengers spend on average between £80 and £100 in each port. The group hopes that the town can make passengers feel welcome and is looking for support from businesses to help achieve this.

Another aim of the group is to build interest in the town about visits from ships. The next visit to Dartmouth is on Friday May 30 from the vessel Serenissima – and the group hopes to inspire the town to greet the vessel when it sails into harbour at 7am.

Tricia Daniels said: “The meeting was very positive and bodes well for us. We are working towards a future that will see many more cruise ship visits to Dart Harbour. It is brilliant to see all of these organisations committed to working together for the good of the town. We will continue to explore how we can work as a town to attract cruise ships to Dartmouth.”

Dart Harbour Master Capt Rob Giles said; “I’m delighted by the meeting and how positive it was – we all have a common goal of attracting more cruise ships to Dartmouth and we are all determined to achieve that together.”

Francesca Johnson of the BID said: “The timing of this project is ideal because we can build this into the more comprehensive  “Brand Dartmouth” marketing strategy that is already being developed by the BID supported by our design agents Chaos of Guildford. This represents yet another example of how local organisations in Dartmouth can achieve so much more by working together as a team.”

TIC Managers Lesley Turner and Sue Stone said: “We wish to thank Tricia Daniels for her enthusiasm and persistence in bringing this group together. We are delighted to be working together to help increase the local economy and to provide a memorable visitor experience for visiting cruise ships.”

Please contact Lesley Turner or Sue Stone at the TIC 01803 834959 for further information on the Dartmouth Springboard event.