What boat started it for you?

longjohnsilver

longjohnsilver

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For me, it was being in Salcombe for the first time (by car, long before I'd even considered buying a boat) on a lovely sunny summers day about 30 years ago and seeing a Fairline Mirage pootle along towards the pontoon. For some reason I needed to find out what make/type of boat it was, there was something magical about being on the water in your own craft.

It eventually led to me buying, along with 2 ex bils, a share in a Shetland 535 with a Johnson 60, which went like stink! Then moved on to a Boston Whaler, Relcraft, CI22, CI32 and then our current boat, a DeFever 48, with quite a few RIBs and dories in addition over the past 10 years. I've loved all the boats I've owned and don't regret for a moment all the time and money spent pursuing this magnificent hobby of ours. It's brought years of very happy memories along with friendships that will last a lifetime. And still there's so much more I want to do and see. So many new places to explore and old familiar places to enjoy. I love it!

What first attracted you?
 
Moved to a house right near the Thames in Chiswick in 1992 so bought an already very old 20ft Seamaster (I think!) which we saw advertised in Loot magazine for £900 - I seem to recall it had a marinised Ford Cortina engine! Loved the idea of having our own little self contained world that we could take wherever we wanted. Enjoyed many happy days pottering up and down the river and even spent the odd night tied onto a couple of old mooring stakes bashed into the ground wherever we fancied setting up the barbie! Then got one of the first Hawk 34 Sunseekers, then a Carmargue 44, a Cranchi Atlantique 48 and most recently a Fairline Sq 58 - all in the Med. Have spent many weeks of each summer with all our kids and many of their friends exploring the far corners of the Med and, as the OP said, the memories are priceless. As is the excitement and anticipation of adventures being planned for the future! Now waiting for our Sq 65 to be delivered in Jan and can't wait to get going again...:)
 
After years of fishing with my dad on charter boats on the Clyde as a young boy, working on charter boats and trawlers, i bought an IP 23 with a friend of mine. Enjoyed that for a few years then life, houses and work took over. I spent years diving on the club boat and friends ribs then ten years ago I got back into boating.
I bought a 7.4 redbay cabin rib, then a Dufour ACM 31 and now have a 2001 Princess 38 and am now looking for something else so the Princess is up for sale.
I have had so many great days on the water with my wife, friends and family.
I look forward to the next part of my boating journey, selling the Princess and looking for the next vessel.
So to answer the original question, an IP23 started my personal journey.
 
Started boating racing Enterprise dinghys with my dad. As a sailing club member, we had to spend two days a year as safety officer during racing, tooling around in a dory. I used to prefer that to sailing!!

Then he bought a small cabin cruiser (Shetland type with an o/b - can't remember what it was though), then back to coastal sailing with a Drascomb Lugger.

He then bought a Sealine 255, which I inherited when he died in 2005. With inheritance and a px, I bought my first and only boat (so far...) my much cherished Princess 385.

So really sailing started me off, but the Sealine was the one that really got me into motor boating. I guess one day I'll upgrade the Princess, but SWMBO is fairly sure we're getting a bigger house first, so that won't be for a while!!
 
Despite growing up in a landlocked part of the country I always had a fascination with the sea and boats in general. Can't put my finger on what started it but maybe it was my Dad's old Navy uniform from his National Service days. Anyway, dinghy sailing with school and a neighbour came first along with Sea Cadets and then joing the Navy at 16. When I left the mob we moved to our current location because of the proximity of the Broads and the sea. I guess I always knew that we would have a boat but for years buying a house, building a career and starting a family took priority.

I had the good fortune to work with a friend who was into boats and had a Colvic motro sailor. It got me thinking and when we went in a course with work together we visited a local brokerage on the Gt Ouse. Long story short I ended up going way beyond our planned budget and bought a Princess 32. Great boat for a family with two young kids and the memories we have are just priceless.

A Broom Ocean 37 came next followed by a Fairline Targa 35 and they saw the kids growing up into young adults. Our shared pastime has kept us very close as a family and the great times we have had, the friends we have made and the adventures we shared have provided many happy memories and some great stories. We now have a Broom 41 and couldn't be happier with our choices.

I sometimes say that from an accountants perspective owning a boat is not a clever thing to do but in terms of quality of life it is a no-brainer! :)
 
My love of boats started with the Arthur Ransome stories of Swallows and Amazons. First sailed a Mirror dinghy, Enterprise and GP 14 in the scouts on the south coast. Moved to the Midlands to study and work, and started windsurfing after Uni. Did this for many years. As a family we holidayed on the Broads several times and this switched us onto Mobo's. Our first was a Sealine Cuddy, which we kept for all of 5 or 6 months, but was too small for us, so we bought a Sunbird 25 footer and moored her at Acle on the Broads. We then had a holiday for 10 years before our Sunline, and now our Snazimut.
 
In 1958 I had a half share of an old clinker built 18' river launch with a marinised morris eight engine,on weekends used to poodle up and down the river Itchen ,on high tides went to the salmon pool where the fresh met salt, to dock head just past the floating bridge at Woolston, my Dad wouldn't let us go further, that was the rule.we used to live at 1 Quayside road Southampton and it was a hell of a journey to the river, it took nearly 2 mins,;) owned various boats ever since, it's like a drug addiction, only more costly:D and you pay willingly, from hard earned not from burglary.

I think it's time I visited a shrink.
 
Greg2 said:
I sometimes say that from an accountants perspective owning a boat is not a clever thing to do but in terms of quality of life it is a no-brainer! :)
Click to expand...

+1

A shared love of boats and boating means we spend far more time with our grown kids than we would otherwise, right now we are putting things together to go down to Plymouth for a couple of days with our son and girlfriend, he is really keen to get his hands on the new boat. It dawned on me the other day that he has driven more different types of boats than he has cars.

To answer the question LJS asked, I was born by the sea and have always felt an affinity, don't know quite what it is. In my early twenties I sat on a beach in Antibes and watched someone on a sailboard (which were then new things). I hired one only to find there is a degree of athleticism required that I didn't have, but that led to buying and racing a GP14, which led to Sunsail holidays beyond counting, which led to chartering powerboats, which led to buying a 38ft sailing cat, then the switch to the Princess V48 and now the Rodman as well.

...and finally back to Greg2's point, it has cost a fortune, but what a fabulous memory generator :)
 
As childish as it sounds, it was seeing Bond blasting through the river in Mooraker. From then on I have alwasy fancied a boat. Haid yo wait untill divorved as my wife at the time got sick on the pontoon, so that stopped that idea. Got a Fairline Sprint three years ago withh the help of a friend. Loved every journey on it, including long weekends in Cowe, and Lymington. Had always dreamed of owning a Sunseeker, and two months ago it finally happened. A "when finished" beautiful Comanche 40. I know its not everyones cup of tea due to not being loads of room down below, but the cockpit and sleek look with the canopy off more than makes up for it.
 
My dad has always sailed for as long as I can remember so I was brought up around sailing in one form or another. I've always loved the water but sailing has never been my thing tbh so never gave owning a boat a thought until 2008 when, for some unknown reason, it started to play on our minds (well, mine really).
Long story short, we knew saily things weren't for us so we started looking around at small, affordable mobos. Most of the research came via this forum which was a great find.
After looking at several boats, we knew we needed a weekender so finally decided to dip our toe in the water with a Monterey 218LC. A perfect starter for us as it didn't break the bank and if we decided boating wasn't for us, we wouldn't lose out financially.
It just opened up a whole new world to us. We loved marina life; the people we met; the freedom to view our small corner of the world from a different perspective etc etc.
We thought our little boat was the best thing ever!
We were moored next to a bigger Monterey 250 and I can remember thinking she was huge but also thinking...'Wow, we'd never be able to afford something like that :('. How wrong I was! Within the year, we'd done a deal with the owner who needed to free up some capital and that was it....traded in the 218 for the 250!
Wow! Oh Wow! There was no turning back now! This boating lark had changed our lives completely and we loved it!
Another year on and we were looking for the next upgrade which would allow us to stay aboard for longer periods and go further afield. So, here we are, with our 3rd boat a 2009 Sealine SC35 which has been an absolute dream come true for us. Yes, we're always looking for that next step up but TBH, if that never happens...I couldn't care less. We're happy. Like pigs in poo frankly.
As has been said already...boats are an absolute money pit, no question about that but....the friends we've made are friends for life who we value enormously and the quality of life it brings is second to none. The memories made and still to be made are unequalled.
If ever (God forbid) we had to change plans due to finances, we would always have a boat of some description. I simply can't imagine life without one now. We never take it for granted and know only too well how fortunate we are to be able to be part of the boating world.
L
:)
 
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For me it was a Targa 37 spotted in the Blue Lagoon on Comino (Malta). Led to us purchasing a Targa 30 a couple of years later. Had to sell it when I gave up contracting and took a permie job. Debating on whether I should leave my safe permie job return to contracting which would see me back on the water.
 
MTB 102 http://www.mtb102.com

When I was 10 and a bit years old I moved up from Cubs to Scouts. It was a Sea Scout group and they had MTB 102 as a training vessel!!! That sold me on motor boating for the rest of my life. Trips to sea, night cruising on the Broads, independence, learning navigation, RDF, Sextants, VHF, engine maintenance...... I took to it like a duck to water.
It was quite a few years before I could afford my own boat, but there was various sailing and canoeing involved on and off.
My first boat was 16 foot, old, 2 berth, large 2-stroke outboard on the Thames. I learnt a lot in the very short time I owned her.... namely that 16 foot, old boats with large 2 stroke outboards are **** as family river boats!!
I sold it for a profit when I moved house.
The next boat was a Freeman 22MKII. In a million pieces in a barn. A few years and a lot of hard work later and we had a practical family cruiser. We used her lots. I wanted something larger and more torpedo boat like, so we traded up to a Freeman 30. After a few seasons and some sea trips, the opportunity arose to move up to a Freeman 32. So we grabbed it. There is little chance of anything larger as the boat does dual service as a river cruiser on the Gt Ouse, with it's narrow locks and limited headroom.... but never say never.... one day I may own a torpedo boat!!!
 
My father's Dragon in about 1959 when I was three.I remember lying below on the varnished ribs while my father and mother raced the boat.I got sick a lot...
 
For me it was seeing a Fairline Squadron 65 in Earls Court in the early 90's. Not up to that size yet, doubt I ever will be at current prices!
 
For me, it was a chance visit to the London Boat Show in or around 1990 with a mate of mine. Those were the days when every boat at the show was draped with semi naked females and we came away from the show with our tongues hanging out and completely convinced that owning a boat would turn us into surefire babe magnets. So we decided to go 50/50 on a sensible diesel powered runabout for pottering up and down the Thames just to test the water so to speak. Predictably we actually ended up buying a petrol V8 powered Searay which consumed fuel like we owned an oil well and also predictably it wasn't the babe magnet we'd hoped for either. My mate lost interest in boating because he found a girlfriend with a dog who hated the boat (and me) but I was hooked.
Anyway, 13 boats and heaven knows how much money wasted later, we are pottering around the Med in a 63 footer
 
The 'Ismay''

The Ships of Captain Orlando Lake

by

Ruth Daphne Gillanders nee Lake

The Ismay

The Ismay was built as a sloop. She was purchased by my father Orlando Lake. My father decided that she was not big enough. The Ismay was brought close to shore as possible in peparation to be hauled up by hand on to the beach at Sandy Ground, Anguilla. A long strong rope was passed around the stern and attached to strong points on each side of the hull. Two rows of men then hauled on the ropes with the aid of pulleys and by brute force. Other men placed timber rollers under the keel during the process and the sloop was then dragged on to the beach. Breaks were taken while the pulleys were reset. This was a big event and lots of people turned out to help. My father provided food and drink. The haul-out process took at least a day. Once chocked the Ismay was then cut in half from side to side by hand saws. The bow and stern were pulled apart and a section of roughly twenty feet was spliced in. This included the keel and new ribs and planking. All this work was done without the help of power tools, drawings, computors and the like. Hand tools and a good eye was all that was used - a tribute to my father and the shipwrights. A new mast was also installed.

The Ismay was painted white and then launched as a Schooner. She was beautiful.

The Ismay was hauled out in this manner several times for maintenance.

The Ismay carried labourers to Santo Domingo for the cane cutting season. The deck would be packed with people. My father would sail back up and bring them back.
The Ismay was rammed by a ship on one of her voyages to Santo Domingo. She was nearly cut in two. My father was asleep in one of the doghouses. James Mussington, the bosun, shouted to my father and he managed to get on the side that was not underwater. Fortunately for my father, the ship managed to tow the Ismay to a nearby island where she was repaired. The ramming was quite serious. In those days there was no insurance and there was no radio at least not on the Ismay.

Once coming back from Santo Domingo, the Ismay ran aground on the Tom Dowling shoals in the early hours of the morning. The Ismay was successfully pulled off and refloated.
The Ismay was in competition with the “Warspiteâ€￾ in sailing to and from Santo Domingo. If they were close at the end of the journey they would often race to their anchorage in Sandy Ground. These impromptu races would cause great excitement among the people in Anguilla, especially in Sandy Ground, who had their own favourite. The Ismay usually won. On one occasion, the Warspite was tacking back and forth up to the anchorage. The Ismay was on a long tack and passed close to Sandy Island and continued all the way up until she was almost under the lee of the hills. Many of her supporters, some of whom had placed bets, were worried that the hills would kill her wind. It was a beautiful sight to see the Ismay under full sail. Then the Ismay tacked and in a straight run beat the to mooring. There was a lot of discussion about that tacti for weeks.

The Ismay would also take the family to Dog Island for the day. Dog Island belonged to my father. The Ismay would take supplies to the lady lived on the island and looked after sheep. When she wanted something she would light a large fire in the early evening. This would be seen on the horizon from our house in Sandy Ground. My father would then send a sloop out. I do not know what happened if too ill to light the fire or had run out of matches.

The Ismay would also sail to Trinidad loaded with salt. This salt was picked by hand at Sandy Ground Anguilla. It was a harsh job. The salt was loaded on to wooden flat bottomed boats called “flatsâ€￾ The workers hands and feet would be raw and covered with open sores by the time the salt was picked. It must have been extremely painful.

and other manned Access was by rowing boat from the Ismay. It was too deep to anchor. The row boat then tied on to a nearly vertical ladder fixed to the face of the rock. o
The Ismay was among the first, if not the first, schooner to have an engine installed in Anguilla. For whatever reason, clandestine or otherwise, the engine never ran properly. An engine was installed shortly after into the Warspite with no problems.

My father, Captain Orlando Lake, never touched alcohol. My father was also a lay methodist preacher in Anguilla. He was well known in the region. His word was his bond. On one occasion I recall he had accepted his full load of cargo. A merchant approached him and offered to pay a lot more for for my father to take his cargo instead. My father said no and softened the blow by asking how he would feel if after accepting the merchants cargo he broke his word and took other cargo at a higher price.
After my father died on 30 June 1939, James Mussington the bosun took over as captain. The Ismay continued to trade under my mother’s hand. In 1961 there was a hurricane “Donnaâ€￾ and the Ismay sank at anchor in Sandy Ground. The Ismay was once again hauled out and set on the beach. The Ismay was not insured and was never repaired.
In the seventies the government had a clean up of the beaches and the remains of the Ismay were broken up and burnt.

In the early eighties, my son Douglas retrieved one of the nameplates of the Ismay from the family home on Sandy Ground and stored it at my house in St.Kitts.

The Daphnia

The Daphnia was a sloop bought by my father. The Daphnia did the Sombrero run once a month. The Sombrero run was the route from Anguilla to St. Kitts to Sombrero to Anguilla. The Daphnia carried also carried supplies to the workers on Sombrero.

The Daphnia sank enroute between Anguilla and St. Kitts. All hands were lost, save one. The survivor clung to the mast for three or four days. He was picked up by a ship which took him to St. Maarten or St. Kitts (I’m not sure). His story was very interesting which included circling sharks.



The Yolanda was another sloop bought by my father. The Yolanda also did Sombrero trade runs.

The Yolanda was on a voyage to the Virgin Islands captained by a Mr Newton. In the approach to one of the islands the Yolanda was wrecked on rocks. Whether this was the fault of the captain, who was said to be drunk, or otherwise is not known for certain.


The Carmella

The Carmella was another sloop bought by my father. The Carmella also took part in the Sombrero trade runs.

The Carmella sank and was destroyed in one of the hurricanes. I am not sure but it may have been Hurricane Donna in 1961.


Conclusion

In conclusion, the hurricane in 1961 ended the Lake venture in the inter-island schooner and sloop trade. My mother was not able to cope and the captains together with the crew (to some degree) did not act in her interests as they should have done. This is very sad ending as I am sure that my son Douglas would have enjoyed the business even if he did not have total input into it. In addition I know that my grandson, Christopher, would have also enjoyed it as well.
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Great idea for a winter thread, LJS.

For me, it was my grandad taking me for a trip in a small open mobo owned by the Shanklin Deep Sea Fishing Club. I must have been about six or seven years old at the time I guess, and I have a vivid memory of the clear (shallow) water and the ripples in the sand as we came back to the clubhouse. Fab.
 
My wife watched Mamma Mia, fell in love with the yacht, and announced that we had to buy one - a very expensive movie!
 
When I was 14/15, my friends parents bought a Glastron SX 175. Tiny, cramped little thing but in the summer we used to go and do watersports on the river. Ever since I've been obsessed with owning a boat and 10 years later (2012) we bought our first boat. Well and truly hooked!
 
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