17th June 2020
Volunteers on the Arctic Corsair team have continued to contribute to the project during lockdown. Volunteering is now done from home and we’re looking at new ways of telling volunteer’s stories.
At the start of lockdown we were in a different situation than many heritage attractions. The Arctic Corsair was already closed to the public ahead of conservation work. Volunteers were part of the process planning the refurbishment and revised displays on board the ship and in the new visitor centre. Face to face activities had been planned at local schools and Redwood Glades Extra Care facility to tell the story of the Arctic Corsair and the fishing community.
When social distancing measures came in we switched to remote volunteering using emails, private social media groups and telephone calls. The volunteer team have different levels of IT experience and are supporting each other to get as many people connected as possible.
During checks on the ship at her temporary moorings, volunteers with engineering experience have been available for advice over the phone.
Volunteers have been able to continue to contribute knowledge and experience to the planning process, with the specifications for the conservation work on the Arctic Corsair now completed.
We’ve tried out new ways of sharing knowledge with our museum audiences. Contributions from volunteers own experiences have helped us with a social media theme of communications at sea. Check out our most recent blog on telegrams to see examples submitted by volunteers.
The first virtual meeting took place earlier this month for all volunteers, using a video conferencing app.
Our screen shot shows Bill and Cliff during the meeting sharing knowledge on the future home of the ship. Both had worked as engineers at North End Shipyard when it was Drypool Engineering and then Yorkshire Dry Dock Limited.
Remote volunteering will continue and we are looking to develop new ways to engage people with the Arctic Corsair and Hull’s fishing heritage. As restrictions are eased this will suit those volunteers who are in the vulnerable category and need to remain shielded.
In person volunteering on the Arctic Corsair remains our goal. We have the advantage of a long lead in time to the re-opening of the ship to adapt to any remaining Covid–19 restrictions.
