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By number of members, we are the third largest Chamber in Devon and as an associate of Devon Chamber of Commerce, we are part of The British Chambers of Commerce network.

We also have representation on  the Executive of the Torbay Business Forum and are a founding partner of the Torbay Business and Chambers Network.

If you have a business in Brixham, or business interests in Brixham, it only takes a few minutes to join online.

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Members


Friends Of the Vigilance CIO

Contact: Clive Robson
Work 36 Ranscombe Road Heath Road Brixham Devon TQ5 9UP Cell Phone: 07722524703 Website: Vigilance Website

About us

Vigilance Of BrixhamLogo

Brixham Sailing Trawlers, even in their heyday, were not built to last.

Many were launched, worked pretty much to destruction for 10 or 15 years and then scrapped. In some cases, they were sold on by less-than-scrupulous owners who knew that they were soon to become an expensive liability. So, it is little short of a miracle that Vigilance, the last of the surviving sailing trawlers built in the port is still afloat today, more than 90 years on.

Her restoration marked the first step in establishing Brixham’s present-day Heritage Fleet. She is the only trawler maintained and crewed entirely by volunteers whose dearest wish is to see her sail serenely on into her centenary year.

Still classed as a Brixham Sailing Trawler” although no longer fishing. She was the last of a long line of beam trawlers or smacks built at Upham’s Shipyard in Brixham in 1926. As a heritage vessel of national importance, she is part of the UK Historic Fleet.

Vigilance BM76 is a piece of floating history. She’s one of the few surviving sailing trawlers built in Brixham. When she was launched in 1926, she represented the pinnacle of trawler design and proved it with her record-breaking speed and by winning Brixham’s coveted George V Cup in the annual Trawler Race.  But, sadly, she was moth-balled after just eleven years when steam-power took over from sail, and during WWII – little more than a hulk – she was used as a platform for tethering barrage balloons.

Following the war, she escaped being broken up for scrap and was refitted as a gentleman’s yacht. Vigilance then survived an attempted arson attack and several more years of neglect before enjoying yet another career as a sail training craft and an Arctic Survey Vessel.

In 1997 she was ‘rediscovered’ moored up on the Isle of Man and sailed back home to Brixham by a group of local enthusiasts to be restored. It was a precarious voyage; the bilge pumps were working overtime the whole way! But her arrival back in the bay marked the first step in establishing Brixham’s present day Heritage Fleet and Vigilance is now enjoying yet another new lease of life as a floating and working reminder of the port’s role in international fishing history.

Vigilance is proudly owned, maintained and crewed by Brixham people. She is the only boat in the Heritage Fleet currently relying entirely on voluntary support. The owners are “Friends of the Vigilance CIO ” and stakeholders are mainly local people with a love historic sailing vessel. All the money raised from our regular sailings and charters is invested in the care and upkeep of the boat.

From the outset the prime objective of the Charity has been to preserve Vigilance for the enjoyment of as many Brixham residents and visitors as possible. The aim is to give people the opportunity to experience the unique delights of sailing this classic boat and in the process perpetuate the skills and craftsmanship required to keep her ship-shape.

Her restoration is a constant work-in-progress. Both above and below decks she has been sympathetically modernised in a way that balances present-day safety requirements  and creature comforts with the desire to preserve, as far as possible, the authentic look and sailing qualities of this historic vessel. She is certified for commercial charter sailing. All safety and emergency equipment comply with the latest standards.


A.C.Print Ltd
Accounting & General
Accounting for Everything
Ace Taxis
BATS
Bay’s Brewery
Bazuru
Beacon House
Ben Leach Consultancy Ltd
Berry Head Hotel
Boyce Brixham
Brixham Angels
Brixham Art Society
Brixham Cottages
Brixham Fish Restaurant & Takeaway
Brixham Future CIC
Brixham Heritage Museum
Brixham Laboratory
Brixham Maid
Brixham Pirate Festival
Brixham Theatre
Brixham Wine Loft
Carolina Vottero Painter & Artist
Caterfood
Chartroom 1st class Coffee Lounge
Chris Slack Photography
Churstonway Lodge
Coralline Health
Crafty Cwtch
Dartmouth Steam Railway & Riverboat Company
DD Commercial Cleaning Supplies
Decades Past
Devon & Moor
Devon Watercolours
Driftwood B&B
Enigma Signs
Eric Lloyd
Fanciflair
First Maintenance
Fishcombe Cove Cafe
Flossy & Jim
Flotsam 50
Flour Flower
Friends of the Vigilance CIO
Frogmore Solutions Ltd
Go Mobile
Golden Hind
HADA
Harbour Lights Holiday Apartments
Home Farm Kitchen
I Scream
IMS Ltd. Creative Marketing Services
Individuals by Jane Lancaster
Inter-Line
Janet Astle Psycotherapy & Coaching
Janet Bolland
Johnny Blue Ice Cream
Julia Finzel (artist)
Kaboo Trading
Kelly’s Hero Charters
Latitude Clothing Co.
Liudmila King
Love Day Designs
Lovingly Original
Luxury Coastal
Lynne Peets (Artist)
Mackerel Works
Maison et Vie
Margaret Brett
MaxTats.com
MDL Marina
Miss Beaujangles
Nautoguide Limited
Offshore Shellfish
One Fishermans Loft (holiday let)
Partington Printers
Pilgrims Rest Cottages
Pirates Adrift
Play Torbay
Primrose Properties
Protec-fire
PSP Insurance Brokers
Quayside Hotel
REAL Collections
Roger Richards Solicitors
Ron Campion Furnishers ltd
SCYMARIS
Sea Tang Guest House
Simply Fish
Something Nice for Gardens
Soul Scented
South Devon College
Stapleton – business name TBC
Stella Isaac
Susan’s flower shop
TDA
Tecmarine Ltd
The Brixham Sewing Box
The Burton Hotel
The Curious Kitchen
The Guardhouse Café
The Riviera Touch Tourism and Events Consultancy
The Smugglers Haunt Hotel
The South Devon Players
Thomas Westcott
Twit Twoo Ltd
W.B.W Solicitors
World Class Training
Yesteryears