Blog Along with Effy - Post Twenty Six

If you have been reading some of my April posts you will know that when I saw

Effy's Blog Along I thought I would share some 'diary' posts, along with some of the crafty things I have been doing.

This is really the continuation of my last post. I got started this morning but then got waylaid. I did't get round to chatting about any of my 'everyday life' or 'memories'!

I had shown you this which is the start of week 17 of Wanderlust and a workshop by Kasia Avery. The next step was to add some more collage, some fabric (mine was some that I had stencilled paint on and ripped up). Then gesso.

 

Finally oil pastels and more gesso. I think my pastels are too pastel. I wanted some stronger colour... but I quite like the texture.

I would like to thank Angela for the links to Gecko Galz - Today I made these for the Christmas and Steampunk Challenges. For more details please scroll down my posts... So lovely to be given the images!

So - what am I going to chat about today? Boats, I think.

I was looking through old photographs and came across this - quotes from the wall of the Maritime Museum in Greenwich.

Of course my Dad had been in the Navy...

... but when we three children became teenagers Mum and Dad decided we should all have sailing lessons, with the hope of gaining an interest in a hobby we could all share. It worked and the whole family took to sailing. This is Dad sailing with my brother Andrew.

The main holiday of the year became the Menai Strait Regatta.  There was soon a fleet of family boats. This was Kevin and I in our first boat:

Of course when Kevin first got to know the family he was not at all interested in sailing. In fact he vowed not to get involved. Too much talk all the time about sailing! It didn't last!

There were always sailors and shore party!

Mum and Dad bought a small cottage on Anglesey where many of the family have enjoyed happy holidays. The following picture is a typical meeting of the clan - Mum and Dad would be at the cottage, the rest of us would camp or get a holiday house.

To get back to the story though, we eventually got a 'big boat'. This was fitted out on our driveway in Sheffield until it was towed over to Anglesey and launched. This was around 40 years ago. I was heavily pregnant with our son Tom. Dad was pretty concerned as he and I were left on the boat while Kevin and Mum went off in the tender and they got stuck in the mud. What might happen? I don't think he looked that worried in this picture, where he is lying in a pipe cot.

While the kids were younger my sister Liz and I would be onshore with the kids while 'the men' would be sailing.

Eventually all our kids became sailors. Maybe because they were introduced to it at an early age! This is Sophie's first trip on a boat (with Mum) when she was 8 days old.

Much later on Sophie and I used to sail the Mirror, Alice, together. I remember one particular race when we were sailing round Puffin Island. The waves were really huge. One of the large boats sailed past us - one of the men on board said "You must be mad!"

All for now - see you tomorrow!

Happy Crafting!