Frank Mulville

[tugboat]

Am enjoying reading Frank's books again for the nth time. In them he mentions several times about leaving his 'business' to look after itself when he shouldn't be doing so. I'm idly curious to know what sort of business he had that could be left for months on end. Anyone know? He was a good teller of his experiences and very self-effacing about his doubts as to his own competence and decision making. I'd be pleased to be able to achieve half as much.

 

[graham]

Wasnt he the guy who towed another yacht under sail a few thousand miles ?

 

[BlueChip]

I had the pleasure of being acquainted with Frank when Iskra was moored next to us for some years in Bradwell Creek. Even at a ripe old age he would strip of for an early morning swim in the creek. When he came back from his passages he often talked at Bradweel Quay club functions, the last time I heard him talk was about the loss of Iskra in a Scottish loch and her subsequent rebuilding.
No one in Scotland had suitable experience to work on her so he got his own shipwright up from Essex, he bought a fallen oak tree to get enough 'green' oak' for the frames and then had to build a sawmill to cut the planks. An amazing man and you are right - his books are an excellent read, I never learnt what he did for a living other than that it was something in the City

 

[Parsonsheath]

Look at the forefront of Terschelling Sands, thought he mentioned many unsuccessful enterprises, from brush salesman on, but the one at that time was something to do with home typing? (Sorry, away from home so cannot check the actual book)

What I did love was his reference to the fact that he was always running away from some unsuccessful business, seemed to strike somewhere deep in the physche!

 

[Mirelle]

THis is curious because I also had a nodding acquaintance with him and I felt sure that he was a farmer, in the region, approximately, of Maldon, who acquired a certain degree of local celebrity back in the 1960's because he invited the British Communist Party to hold their annual summer camp on his land (Frank's political views can be deduced from his naming his yacht "Iskra"!)