moving in

i wasnt fond of shifting the boat anymore,all the mishaps in ireland had knocked my confidence in her but penzance is only a mile from newlyn so it was unlikely to be an eventful crossing.3 friends came with me to help and hayley for the ride.it wasnt the nicest day in mounts bay a strong southerly breeze was blowing and the sky was overcast and miserable looking.i'd had the engine running for a good while before we left to make sure she was ok and confident she was,threw off the ropes and swung the great tank around and out the harbour.it was rolly enough heading across and i was aware that any sediment in the fuel tanks would be stirred up.i called the harbour on the vhf to say we were coming but they were still moving boats around and werent ready for us so i turned the wheel and headed her out of the bay into the freshening breeze.twenty minutes went by as we dodged back and forth with the weather,waiting for niel to give us the green light,but the harbour is small and moving large vessels around it in the breeze was taking longer than usual.then i noticed it,what i'd been fearful of,a slight drop in the revs.my ears were so used to listening to the damned engine at this stage that i picked it up instantly.i pushed the throttle right down but nothing happened,she was starting to go back on the revs again,my heart sank.there was no waiting now,i had to get to penzance and as i swung her about i called neil and told him we had no choice but to come now and to have the harbour boats ready incase the engine stopped.with the strong onshore breeze ,we'd have to get a tow rope up quickly to stop going ashore.my mate 2kit went down the engineroom to change to the spare set of filters which helped for a while,but only temporarily.it sounded like she would stop,nobody was laughing anymore .even hayley who'd just come for a jolly had gone quiet.2kit was still down the engineroom,alternating the filters but the engine was dying all the time and as we closed on the pierhead,it would fade to a near stop then pick up with each roll of the boat. as we passed the lighthouse i swung her hard round and ran her port bow straight into the pier.i just wanted to get a rope up at this point,anything to stop her blowing onto the beach,but as we came into contact with the pier neil called again and told me to carry on into the dock.so we bounced off the wall and limped in through the narrow dock gates.the engine was just about running,but the harbour boats were there to do the work now.they nudged us into tier and we tied up.the lads headed off home,i finished putting out the ropes.i couldnt believe it,she'd done it again.the dirty cow was trying to give me a breakdown.

mystery ship

their wasnt room in penzance harbour for the boat at this time so she was going to have to stay in newlyn till space was created.andrew munson the harbour master probably wasnt over impressed with her being here so i stayed out of his way.it was only when i met a security guard down the quay that i was informed that the anti-terrorist squad had been down aboard her looking around the day after our arrival.nobody knew who owned this mystery ship and why she was here so i had pay a visit to the harbour office and explain myself.i was then made to ring a police super-intendant and apologise for wasting his time.they had gathered that she was irish after spotting a loaf of brennans bread through the galley windows,but thats all they knew.

a week went by and i passed the time smashing out all the rotten timber from the fishroom and storing it on deck.hayley and a couple of friends helped me.people came down to have a look around her,there was questionable looks on most of their faces,they all agreed that she was a fine sturdy boat,but possibly a bit on the large side.i expect they all thought i was mad,but there was no backing out now.finally,space was created in penzance and niel the harbour master said to come over.