Guess thats upto the NHS?
Ahoy Sailors! Ex- and current boat owners.
- Thread starter nicholsong
- Start date
Yes a very late 23 1974, we did a full restore on it when we got her 1984 was as good as the day it came out of the factory, I also started in a mirror my dad built for £72. Then went on to laser, and anything I could get my hands on including the large racing broads cruiser. Still help a few friends with boats. We had to move a Broom 40 through great Yarmouth bridges last week.
I hate Yarmouth bridges especially when the tide is still running at 4 knots.
And final stop for night in the pub
..
I remember the story of the drunken RYA test.
Crew of 10 on a Sigma 38? We only had 12 on the 12 Metre. Are you sure you did not have double vision?
Its a long time ago but it seemed like 10. Two of those were hostesses dishing out the Pimms mind
- Oct 12, 2009
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Its a long time ago but it seemed like 10. Two of those were hostesses dishing out the Pimms mind
Sounds as though 'a squash' was more appropriate.
Crewing on a Barrister friend's Class 4, approaching the start off the Squadron, 5-minute gun, 'Skipper, course change'. Skipper's response - 'Pass me another f*cking G+T Carol'
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- Oct 12, 2009
- 12,496
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- A Class N+B Arto 69GL
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My Boss used to bring his 40' motor cruiser up from Lymington to St. Katherine'e dock every year to give cocktail parties for Aviation Underwriters and Brokers.
He used that as an excuse for running the boat on the company all year.
- Sep 6, 2024
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- Laika Kreos 3010
Great shots!
And the delights of Breydon before hand!
Traditionalist are fun aren’t they….
Lasers and fireballs…. Great fun
I recognise that photo!
The wooden box was the houseboat belonging to the company I worked for, based in the building behind.
I've spent a few nights on board.
The advantage of being the boss.
In a former company I worked for the company had two Mercedes Sprinter vans, actually we had three, the third one being the bosses PVC motorhome, which was part of the fleet.
All servicing, payments etc were just put in with the rest of the fleet.
It got used on official business twice a year when we did expositions and the boss stayed in it rather than the Premier Inn like the rest of the sales staff. Perks of being the boss.
I realised I left out the cigarettes and Catherine Zeta Jones part of that story Geoff. Nobody will believe this but its 100% true and I am sure I have told you this bit before. I was the only smoker on board that day and I realised half an hour before the race I was running out of fags. We were anchored about 100 metres from the shore so a Tupperware box was produced, I bunged twenty quid in it and over the side I went "milk tray man" style. It was a scorching hot day so the water felt great. Made it to shore, bought some cigs and even a present for Michelle and put them in the box. On the way back I realised it was just a sea of similarly large yachts. No idea which one was ours. Thought I was heading to the right one and climbed up the back and a hand came down to give me a pull up and it was her! I didn't twig at first not remembering what the girls on "our" boat looked like but as I sat down I recognised her and said something daft like "Its you isn't it and I think I am on the wrong boat".
The crew on the "right boat" had been watching and were shouting over two boats away. So after some quick refreshments with a rather lovely young Catherine Zeta Jones I "Milk Trayed" over the side again to our boat and just made the start of the race. Michelle still has the cuddly little toy pig I bought her on the Isle of Wight that got crammed into a Tupperware box and met Catherine Zeta Jones.
I always wanted to meet Michael Douglas ever since though so I could brag that I knew his wife before he did.
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Yes. The ship was owned by OM, and operated as 'GBA - Gute Bucher fur Alle/Good Books for All' as a book exhibition ship. I joined in Norway, and left two years later from Cameroon. I was trained as a bookkeeper and for most of my time on board worked in that department, and also for a while in the steward and book exhibition departments.
Those were the days when - when I set off - I thought that life was very 'black and white' in terms of what I thought was right and wrong and before I learned that life has many more shades of grey. I learned a lot about other nationalities, about the value of books (remember this was in a pre-internet world!) in peoples' lives. There would be queues of people from small places who had been saving for months for our visit, all through the port areas, waiting to buy books for their communities. (We sold second hand as well as new books, and they were not all 'religious' titles.) I learned that even though I was from a fairly 'ordinary' family in 'middle England' that by the standards of MANY people in the world I was rich. I learned about real poverty and need. I learned about the joy of being at sea under the stars at night, miles away from any coastline. I made some lifelong friends.
I don't think I'd do it again.
I still get seasick.
Well! Hard to know whether to say lots, or just summarise! So here are key points..
First took the helm of a boat aged 5.
Owned and raced Fireballs in the seventies.
Owned a Lough boat in Ireland for fishing Lough Derg in the 80s
Built a Hunter 272 from a kit in the early nineties. Sailed locally.
Stripped out and refitted a Westerly Konsort in the mid nineties. Sailed locally and Normandy/Brittany.
Bought a new Hallbery-Rassy in 1998. Sailed locally and France. Moved her to Plymouth for a few years, then moved her to the Morbihan.
Sold her and bought a Motorhome in 2015. We felt we had done all we wanted to do, had no interest in longer distances nor the heat of the Med or the cost of the UK. We were a bit bored of anchoring in sandy coves, or berthed in marinas, and I felt I wanted to leave boating rather than have it leave me.
And along the way I wrote one of the RYA's training books.
Going back to the OP, we enjoyed the short-term and temporary mobile life on the boat, and wanted to exchange the littoral geography for the broader inland one. We feel we ought to be able to live our lives for short periods in a compressed environment - comfort, food, entertainment. We don't regard our style as 'camping' in the conventional sense.
First took the helm of a boat aged 5.
Owned and raced Fireballs in the seventies.
Owned a Lough boat in Ireland for fishing Lough Derg in the 80s
Built a Hunter 272 from a kit in the early nineties. Sailed locally.
Stripped out and refitted a Westerly Konsort in the mid nineties. Sailed locally and Normandy/Brittany.
Bought a new Hallbery-Rassy in 1998. Sailed locally and France. Moved her to Plymouth for a few years, then moved her to the Morbihan.
Sold her and bought a Motorhome in 2015. We felt we had done all we wanted to do, had no interest in longer distances nor the heat of the Med or the cost of the UK. We were a bit bored of anchoring in sandy coves, or berthed in marinas, and I felt I wanted to leave boating rather than have it leave me.
And along the way I wrote one of the RYA's training books.
Going back to the OP, we enjoyed the short-term and temporary mobile life on the boat, and wanted to exchange the littoral geography for the broader inland one. We feel we ought to be able to live our lives for short periods in a compressed environment - comfort, food, entertainment. We don't regard our style as 'camping' in the conventional sense.
- Nov 28, 2007
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- Burstner Delphin 700
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After sailing a GP14 for some years I bought a caprice back over 40 years ago then later moved up to a Virgo Voyager then finally a Albin Ballad which I had for 27 happy years. I spent 20 years running Dayskipper and Yachtmaster courses and ran and examined more VHF/DSC courses than I can honestly remember. Glad I took the time and put in the effort to get my Yachtmaster many years ago but now retired from sailing and yes I do miss it but still using the motorhome.
Was the Caprice the Robert Tucker designed one, like the one Shane Acton circumnavigated in?
- Oct 12, 2009
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HELLO ALL RESPONDENTS.
As my OP anticipated, there are a lot of sailors on MHFun, but even I am surprised that we have had over 100 posts in just 3 days.
Many posts have answered why the boat was succeded, and also many humorous stories.
Thank you all for your responses, and please keep them coming.
Geoff
[Only my VPN is in Canada, though Poland has same colours.]
As my OP anticipated, there are a lot of sailors on MHFun, but even I am surprised that we have had over 100 posts in just 3 days.
Many posts have answered why the boat was succeded, and also many humorous stories.
Thank you all for your responses, and please keep them coming.
Geoff
[Only my VPN is in Canada, though Poland has same colours.]
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Enough of these WAFI posts!
Had my dream job for 35yrs.
Commissioning, testing and handing over luxury motor boats. Prestigious makes up to 65ft. Also testing manufacturers prototypes.
Mainly South Coast UK but also many trips to Med to commission and handover to owners.
Always made sure had a clear day prior to handover to run boats to view top locations.
Even took a 40 footer up the Grand Canal Venice.
Just made sure every boat more than met with customer expectations.
Very happy times.
Had my dream job for 35yrs.
Commissioning, testing and handing over luxury motor boats. Prestigious makes up to 65ft. Also testing manufacturers prototypes.
Mainly South Coast UK but also many trips to Med to commission and handover to owners.
Always made sure had a clear day prior to handover to run boats to view top locations.
Even took a 40 footer up the Grand Canal Venice.
Just made sure every boat more than met with customer expectations.
Very happy times.
- Jul 28, 2021
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Youngest who has a marine engineering business on the South Coast is now spending most of his time collecting and scrapping boats. Stripping them and selling engines overseas for which there is a massive market. Some were beauties in their day. Wooden ones burnt and GRP shredded and recycled. A sad sign of the times!
- Oct 12, 2009
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- A Class N+B Arto 69GL
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- Since 2009
There must also be a market for spars, winches, stanchions etc., but maybe those have been stripped and sold before he gets the hulls.
There are many sad cases of rotting boats in Greece, but often there are family disputes about ownership, to the detriment of all the family, and not an area where one wants to tread.
If he ever gets his hands on Merc OM 636(rare now but still a reliable donkey) please let me know as the new owner of my boat might be interested in spares.
- Oct 29, 2021
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- Most of my life in one form or another
45 ' narrowboat .
Moored at Sawley.
Sold around 10 years ago and lately been thinking of getting another.
Hired a couple last year and we have decided against getting another due to the declining state of maintenance on the canal network .
Moored at Sawley.
Sold around 10 years ago and lately been thinking of getting another.
Hired a couple last year and we have decided against getting another due to the declining state of maintenance on the canal network .
- Nov 28, 2007
- 469
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- 935
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- Burstner Delphin 700
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- since 1964
Yes it was but a fibre glass version. I can remember seeing Shrimpy after Shane Actions first circumnavigation.
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