Page 15 - Captain William Strike of Porthleven
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these anxieties reduced as the 19 century progressed bearing in mind the gradual
trend in the Welsh trade from smaller brigs to larger schooners. By the middle of the
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19 century the Welsh copper trade tended to be characterised by two-masted
schooners of up to 150 tons as well as a limited number of three-masted schooners
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exceeding 150 tons. Even beyond this stage of the 19 century adverse winter
conditions meant that those vessels that continued to operate were often wind-bound
on the coast of South Wales. The consequences of this sort of disruption were that
coal supplies to Cornwall for domestic and industrial purposes were subject to
serious interruption while the ship owners suffered financially from the delay of
passages back to Cornwall.
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