Gloucester Docks &
the Sharpness Canal

Lightship Sula

This page features the former lightship Sula, now permanently moored beside Llanthony Quay, Gloucester, and serving as a centre for complementary therapies.

For more on ships, see Sharpness Ships, Coaster to Gloucester, Sand for RMC, Royal Navy, Square Sail, Kathleen & May
 

Lightship Sula
     The lightship was originally stationed off Spurn Head at the mouth of the Humber estuary. Since decommissioning in 1985, she has served as the headquarters of a yacht club and as a tourist attraction in various locations.
     During three years of restoration and fitting out at Sharpness Shipyard, the present owners Jan and Agnes van der Elsen have retained the original light and fog-horn while adapting the crew’s quarters and engine room to provide three treatment rooms, a teaching area and a shop. They have renamed the lightship Sula, meaning peace, and they offer high quality complementary health care and training, trading under the name Lightship Therapies.

Sula at Llanthony Quay, Gloucester

Treatment Room

Shop

Passage to Gloucester
     After refurbishment and fitting out at Sharpness, lightship Sula was towed up the canal to Gloucester on 2 Oct 2010.

For the passage up the canal, Sula left Sharpness around 8.30 with one tug at the bow and another helping to steer at the rear.

An early challenge for the tug crews was to manoeuvre the huge vessel along the narrow channel between the two bridges close together at Purton.

At Saul Junction, one of the stern ropes parted, and there was a short delay while a new rope was connected.

While passing Pilot Bridge, after an earlier call for cigarettes for the crew, the opportunity was taken to pass a couple of packets over the bridge rail.

Sula eventually arrived at Gloucester at about 6.00 o'clock after a voyage lasting over ten hours.