BUILDER OF BOATS | TELLER OF STORIES |
KEEPER OF MEMORIES
I lived on boats for many years in Bristol docks and on the River Avon when I worked as a British Sign Language interpreter.
In 2003 I had an overwhelming feeling that I wanted to place boats at the very core of my life. I read about the Boat Building Academy in Lyme Regis, Dorset. When I went into the workshop, it felt like a homecoming.
I trained at The Boat Building Academy in 2004-2005, building my first boat as a daughterboat to the oldest surviving Shetland boat of 1882 with Willie Mouat as my mentor from the island of Unst of the Shetland Isles.
I launched the daughterboat called Georgie McDonald from Unst, the most northern isle of Britain, from the same slipway as the motherboat had been launched in 1882.
Since the building of my first daughterboat, I have gone on to build several other daughterboats, each with their own stories to tell.
People are drawn to traditional wooden boats, drawn to their skeletal, sculptural forms. I am passionate about involving the community in the building of my boats, fostering a sense of belonging to the boats and a connection to the sea.
In 2003 I had an overwhelming feeling that I wanted to place boats at the very core of my life. I read about the Boat Building Academy in Lyme Regis, Dorset. When I went into the workshop, it felt like a homecoming.
I trained at The Boat Building Academy in 2004-2005, building my first boat as a daughterboat to the oldest surviving Shetland boat of 1882 with Willie Mouat as my mentor from the island of Unst of the Shetland Isles.
I launched the daughterboat called Georgie McDonald from Unst, the most northern isle of Britain, from the same slipway as the motherboat had been launched in 1882.
Since the building of my first daughterboat, I have gone on to build several other daughterboats, each with their own stories to tell.
People are drawn to traditional wooden boats, drawn to their skeletal, sculptural forms. I am passionate about involving the community in the building of my boats, fostering a sense of belonging to the boats and a connection to the sea.
Images by Nick Matthews Photography
Image by Jon Pritchard