Things can be fairly quiet in the boatyard in the chilly days of January, but John and I headed off to Gloucester for the Old Gaffers AGM. It was good to meet up with many gaffers and some old friends. Gloucester may be a long way from the sea, but it does have a dock complex and Nielsens boatyard where they restore large wooden sailing boats. We were fortunate to be shown around by Tommi Nielsen himself and the scale of the work they do, the skills involved and the machinery they use is most impressive.
Bessie Ellen has an active sailing programme every summer, and has just finished her winter maintenance including several new planks in the hull.
We often saw Kathleen and May, a 3 masted 126 ft schooner when she was kept at Bideford in N Devon. She is in the yard for a limited refit, but it seems as though a lot of money will need to be spent if she is ever to sail again.
On a slightly more humble note, I have been given a Falmouth Quay Punt, or rather a 1:12 model of one. This is the Twilight built in 1904. This very detailed model was made by the then owner, a Col Bertie Bloomer who owned the boat for 37 years, and tells the story of his extensive cruises in his book 'The magic that was Twilight'.
Sadly the original Twilight is no longer with us and in a moment of weakness I offered to help with restoring the model. It has perhaps not been cared for as well as it might, and should provide something to do in the long winter evenings.
