The Stream at the bottom of the Field.

The day our mother was buried,

I walked down the fields,

To the stream where we played as children,

A stream you could step over,

But to a boy of six, it was the Amazon.

First sail on Smuggler

Our first sail, down the Liffey and out to Dublin Bay, on 22nd November 2014. Glorious sunny day and enough wind for a trial run. Thomas and I eased her away from her mooring, past some big vessels with lettering on their sides bigger than Smuggler and out to her first taste of sea in a long while. Smuggler had lain inland for at least twelve years and she responded well.

Everything looks better in sunshine, including familiar landmarks like Poolbeg Power Station at Ringsend.

And there she was, sailing like a witch in the sunshine. A great start for a smashing little vessel.

Smuggler standing like a little duck

Like a little duck standing on her two legs, my little pocket sailor, Smuggler, all 19 ft of her.

Is a boat ever ready to be floated ?  she was ready enough in late November 2014, so I launched her in The Grand Canal Basin, in Dublin and motored her around to Poolbeg Marina to raise her mast and put her on a mooring on The Liffey. Many thanks to Jimmy and Darragh and a beautiful, calm day.

I was looking around on websites during the autumn for a little cruiser and my eyes fell on this Sadler Seawych, lying on The Grand Canal and she reminded me of a little Ming Ming, of Robert Taylor fame. So I did the deal, had her lifted by truck and brought home to my front garden. She was basically very sound and just needed a little TLC, but it still took two months.