Having had a sort of career at sea. I’ve had some great laughs. My job as a pro. Sailor means that this is the only way to survive. The ups and downs with a life like this…
Starting off from when I was quite young. My mother and father took us (my sister Pat and I). Cruising from a very early age. They were brilliant experiences for young kids. As this was back in the 1950’s when there wasn’t much money floating around in UK
We mostly went from Essex to France, Belgium and Holland. Using all my dad’s save work holidays. It was a brilliant education for us. In 1959 they decided to go west and south more. ’59 was one of those remarkable summers that are rarely given for NW Europe. Which is what you need with a family cruise.
My mum although got always very seasick, she always supported my dad. They worked together as a great team with her spending many hours at the tiller. She would always prepare big Thermos flasks of cooked meals, knowing she couldn’t cook at sea. (these were giant size bits of kit for that time!).
To cut this yarn short. We were sailing back from Guernsey and cleared the Channel isles but then got caught out by a SW nasty summers gale. Pat helped dad get the mainsail down (gaff rigged) and I put myself to bed (was eleven then!).
This left mum and dad on deck though that night crossing the Channel. My father said to mum “eventually Peggy, you should see the lume of the Portland Bill Lighthouse. She said immediately, “I’ve already seen it Jim”. He was an excellent navigator and thought that’s not possible. Only to realise that she had seen the moon rising! Maybe this isn’t funny, but it was to them. They were very tough people that had been in WW11. This boat was one of those that looked after them. She was a 30ft Yawl built in 1906; but with only her mizzen set and just her jib ‘Patience’ looked after them very well.
Other things I’ve seen are much shorter than this one. We were racing on a quite tender Half-toner offshore. One of Ron Hollands designs. Doing a RORC race which used to be called the Morgan Cup. This went west down to Start Point and then back to the Solent. The wind died in Lyme Bay, and we’d set the Floater with the pole and sheets were tiny bits of string. This conventional Spi, could only do about ten/ twelve knots of wind. But the wind piped up quite rapidly and our bowman went forward to drop it. He was a great guy, but he tripped up and put the pole right through it. And it popped like a balloon.
No one said anything expect me said anything. I was in total stitches of laughter etc. They were all looking at the owner who was a rich monster. And might have raced with until the end of that season with him; but that was enough…he was a someone that used to foam at the mouth when he was losing. Enough said…
I got asked to take out ‘Jolie Brise’ with people that had helped her keep going from the Exmouth Maritime Museum. We joined together on the Hamble. And then went into Lymington to pick up more fuel. The NW F4-5 wind looked good to cross the Channel with this of about eight old non-sailors. It was only my good mate and I doing this.
After clearing the Isle-Of-Wight; JB was romping at over ten knots. I said to my pal “are you okay, I’m going below to put the dinner on”. He was a very laid-back lovely sailor. He said “that’s fine John. It will be only you and me through this night; but she (JB) loves this”.
I went below put the Chicken’s on with potatoes, veg on to roast in two large trays. Then, went back on deck but thought I heard a clang somewhere. But my pal had heard nothing. After twenty minutes I went below again to see how it was cooking.
The companionway steps on JB are about twelve foot long. Then I slivered down the cooker. The oven door had opened and there was hot oil all over the wooden floor. I would/could easily have lost in and laughed but there was a sea-sick lady only a few yards away. With buckets bow and stern.
It wasn’t easy climbing up away from the cooker after I secured it with a bit of string; having put the two dishes back inside.
When I’d got back on deck again and was laughing much more. My mate said, “what’s taken you so long John”. Trying to be serious “I said, “ are you okay to carry on, as the meal might be a bit longer” But “don’t let anyone below until I come up again, please”.
He probably thought as a pro Merch man that I was amature. But’s that fine for moi!
We, him/ my good mate and I enjoyed that trip. JB came into Bray Harbour that quickly, she was very fast for a boat that had been designed and build by a proper French man in 1913. Most of that crew never ate my meal either; but that’s a pro sailor’s life in a nutshell!
Perhaps none of these things aren’t that funny; and being rather good I’ve kept off things like toilets, engines on boats Etc. Hence, it’s perhaps much too smooth writing for me which might be useable.
