November 1997

In 1992, the Whitby-based Helga Maria, a 1920s fishing schooner, caught the headlines when a DOT inspector ruled her unfit for sea. Owner and skipper Jack Lammiman had proposed taking a motley group of people to the Arctic. They included a Hull parson, two old ladies, a bargeman and a retired yachtsman.

Helga Maria and the group eventually crept out of Whitby when the inspector's back was turned, causing a sensation. After a time, when no sightings had been made of her, it was said that several navies had begun searching the seas.

Needless to say, the party reached Jan Mayen Island, where they left a plaque in honour of Whitby's famous whaling skipper William Scoresby. Now it is reported that a film is being made of their exploits, with Bob Hoskins playing the part of Captain Jack.