SHANE ACTON - SHRIMPY THE BOAT

[bob_tyler]

Please can anyone assist.

1 Is Shrimpy still in existence?

2 If she is, does anyone know where?

I am doing some research and any information would be appreciated could be of great assistance.

He was one of the great small boat sailors & I believe should be better known.

Bob


1

 

[durham123]

The 18 ft 4in Caprice bilge keeler, Super Shrimp, fell apart after being damaged in a hurricane on the sands of Golfito Costa Rica in the mid-1980s.

 

[FergusM]

His two books, 'Shrimpy' and 'Shrimpy Sails Again' are well worth reading, not least for reminding us how simple it is to go to sea (if the bureaucrats will let us).

I came across Shane Acton's obituary on the net, and I have copied it below. I believe it is from the Cambridge Evening News, which was his local paper, and which helped him in many ways, and published his articles. It's clear from the books that he smoked like a chimney, which, no doubt, explains his untimely death from lung cancer.

RIP

Wednesday, February 27, 2002
World trip record sailor dies

A CAMBRIDGE round the world yachtsman has died aged 55.
Shane Acton, a former Cambridge Grammar schoolboy, held the world record for circumnavigating the globe in the smallest boat for eight years.
He first set sail from the Cam in 1972 at the age of 22 in his tiny 18ft yacht, Shrimpy.
Knowing nothing about sailing and equipped only with £20, a book on navigation given to him for his birthday and a plastic sextant to steer by, it was another eight years before Shane was to return to Cambridge as a local celebrity.
And it was four years later, in 1984, that wanderlust overtook him once again. He left his job as stage door keeper at the Arts Theatre and set about his second voyage.
Debbie Watson, his sister, said: "He's always been a loner and gone off by himself. He used to go off in the school holidays and dad would drop him off at a river somewhere in Wales and he would come back six weeks later.
"He joined the Marines when he was 18, not for a great length of time and then he worked as a milkman and a bus conductor. But in the back of his mind he wanted to give up everything and go off. He actually followed his dream.
"He had no real yachting experience. He was extremely modest and would sit back and listen to the tales of rich Californians and not say a word.
"He was not materialistic at all."
He was accompanied for much of his first trip by his then girlfriend, Swiss photographer Iris Derungs, and on his second voyage by girlfriend Sandie Watts, who died last year.
Shane, who grew up in Coniston Road, Coleridge, finally settled on a "paradise island" near Golfito in Costa Rica, where he lived alone, growing his own food and taking American tourists on game fishing expeditions.
He returned to Cambridge in December with nothing but a rollbag.
Shane died on Monday of lung cancer.
His funeral will be held at Cambridge crematorium on Wednesday, March 6.
His family have asked for donations to be made to Cancer Research UK, instead of flowers.

 

[ongolo]

Thank you, I have often wondered. He was one of my heros and influenced me.

Somebody once said:"the best die, the good go away and only the rubbish stays behind"

He died.

Ongolo

 

[bob_tyler]

Thanks for that info. As his book is out of print can anyone tell me if his Caprice was a Mk1 with the short cabin or MkII with a forward extension to the cabin?

 

[FergusM]

She was a Mark 1. In the first book, Shrimpy, he explains the differences between the two marks.

If you are researching the boat, I am surprised you haven't got the books. Have you tried the secondhand book search engines?

Both books have lots of excellent photographs. The best is probably the one where Shane Acton was showing the boat to HRH Prince Philip. The boat was floated in a swimming pool outside a friend's house in Brisbane! Another benefit of a small boat ...

 

[Stingo]

Bob

You can buy the books on Amazon.co.uk. Do a search for Shane Acton and it will come up with both titles

 

[scarlett]

I am sure Shrimpy was at the London Boat Show some years ago. It may be possible to trace her via the organisers.

 

[claymore]

Bob
It would be good to have a bit dedicated to him at the Museum - is this what you are thinking?

 

[Dave_Snelson]

The original book has the pictures in plan form. The boat was in fact destroyed in a hurricane by a falling palm tree. Shane died of cancer in Cambridge aged 55. Very sad.

 

[Dave_Snelson]

Bob - you have just touched on one of my all time favourite books. Unfortunately both Shrimpy and her brave skipper are no more. For your research take a look at this link.

http://www.cambridge-news.co.uk/archives/2002/03/04/south.html

A sad end to a brave man and a brave little boat.

 

[anglo_saxon]

a great great man.
the book is what started me sailing thank you Shane RIP.

 

[anglo_saxon]

a great great man.
the book is what started me sailing thank you Shane RIP.

 

[AuntyRinum]

I'm saddened to hear that he died. I met him once in the eighties and he showed me Shrimpy. He was very quiet and unassuming about his exploits and quite an inspiration.

 

[TQA]

He gave me the confidence to go cruising for 7 years in my bullet proof Ryton 38. I kept reminding myself if an 1/4 ply 18 footer can do it then a 1/4 corten steel 38 footer should be able to follow humbly in his wake.

He was a good example of LESS can be MORE when cruising.

Carpe Diem

 

[bob_tyler]

Does anyone know of any Mk1 Caprice's lying about which, although they could not be made seaworthy, could be made to look OK with a little skilled work?

 

[Guest]

Post deleted by danfoley

 

[jamesa]

Re: For Bob Tyler

That looks like a mk2.

My Dad's first boat was a mk1 Caprice - a great boat that would go anywhere (slowly /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif )

 

[basic]

i just came across this old thread when Googling ' Shane Acton' i was trying to find out what he did in the years between his circumnavigation and his death in 2005. I know he rode a motorcycle to India and wrote a book about a second voyage but the years in-between seem like a bit of a mystery. He seemed like a nice guy. I met him at the London boat show when Shrimpy was exhibited there and he was selling copies of his book.

 

[Searush]

Thanks for resurrecting that, an interesting read. At one time the books were highly collectable & very pricey, but they are now available for free download.