Page 64 - recollections of a life in Porthleven

Chapter 12

PZ228 ‘OUR JANICE’

How lucky I have been in life to have had what I’ve had!

Before my apprenticeship had finished at Porthleven Ship Yard I said to my
Dad I would like to go fishing full time and one of the fishing boats in the
harbour owned by Larry (?) was going to be sold as he was going to buy a
larger one. All through my school days I told my Dad I wanted to go fishing
but I was encouraged to get a trade first. So that was what I did. I followed
in the steps of my Dad and became an apprentice marine engineer. In the
life I’ve had/will have, I’m more than pleased that I did (more memories).

Well after many evenings and many months later of talking at home and
over pints drunk at the Atlantic Inn, the pub behind Trewarvas, how this pub
has changed over the years. The sing songs, the people, the games of crib,
dominoes, the atmosphere, the pasties which were brought in during the
evenings, the pints of Double Diamond which were drunk by yours truly,
the Sunday morning football team we had, a great pub. Mind you, the Ship
Inn and the Harbour (Commercial) were great pubs to drink in as well. The
Ship Inn, as a teenager, was the place to go to make a ‘friendship’ with a
WREN or a young girl on holiday. (Now I am thinking about that mizzen
sail I had stowed away in the entrance of that blocked cave, which I found
very handy if the grass was wet..

After chatting to Dad, as well pestering him we decided to build our own
fishing boat. My father could put his mind and hand to anything if he wanted
too. What came first I cannot recall, was it the measuring up of the back yard
for the size of boat we could build? Or, was it making drawings of the boat,
then making half and full size models of the boat? (That was to a scale of so
many inches to the foot.) I found making the models very enjoyable.
Eventually we decided on the one we were going to build and some of the
wood was ordered and delivered to Trewarvas. The building of our boat
started with a lot of help from a shipwright from the ship yard called Henry
Willey, his help was greatly appreciated.