Events at The National Maritime Museum Cornwall

From 19th April 2024

Small Boats, Big Stories is a new permanent installation that highlights the important role that small boats play in shaping the world we live in. The museum, home to the National Small Boat Collection, will display eleven small boats as part of the exhibition, bringing together noteworthy boats from Cornish, UK and global history.

Highlights from the exhibition include the display of several small boats that tell compelling maritime stories. This includes the smallest ever boat to cross the Atlantic (measuring in at just 5 ft 4”), an Olympic Gold Medal-winning boat used by Sir Ben Ainslie and the Ednamair, a small dinghy which saved the lives of the Robertson family in 1972 after they became shipwrecked for more than a month in the Pacific Ocean, following a killer whale attack.

The exhibition will also platform small boats that are shaping contemporary history. In what is believed to be the first ever display of a boat of this kind by a UK museum, NMMC will present a small Zodiac dinghy, recently acquired for the National Small Boat Collection directly from UK Border Force. The inflatable boat was intercepted by a passing tanker in the English Channel in November 2018, with its five occupants later brought to Falmouth. The Zodiac will be exhibited alongside several lifejackets, also acquired from UK Border Force, as a symbol of one of the most significant and socially relevant issues of our times.

Together, the boats paint a rich picture of how small boats can not only play a pivotal role in fishing, transport, sport, science and migration but also tell some of the most powerful stories of our times.

100 years of waveriding in Cornwall.

Along the 422 miles of exposed Cornish coastline, waves tear and tumble towards land, shaping the peninsula – and its people. Exposure to the Atlantic Ocean’s barrelling swells has led to a strong and enduring tie to the sea for so many who live here.

SURF!, the next major exhibition from National Maritime Museum Cornwall, celebrates a century of surfing in Cornwall, and reveals how the county has become a global stage for surf innovation, activism and a trailblazer in blue health. It explores how Cornish surf culture has influenced music, film, fashion and art with unseen works by leading contemporary artists including Damien Hirst and Abigail Fallis. Through 100 surfboards, the exhibition uncovers the hidden histories of once unknown female surfers, reveals the 1920s pioneers who led the way and spotlights the surf champions made here today.

Just as the thrashing waves shape the Cornish landscape, Cornwall’s communities have helped shape an entire industry.