You know what makes me grumpy? All the Grumpy Old Men who appeared on the BBC TV series were younger than me, that's what makes me grumpy. Mutter, mutter....

The Grumpy Old Artist

The Grumpy Old Artist
Would YOU pose for this man???

Exhibition Poster

Exhibition Poster
Catterline Event, 2011

Oil Painting by Jim Tait

Oil Painting by Jim Tait
Helford River, Cornwall

Oil Painting by Jim Tait

Oil Painting by Jim Tait
Full-riggers "Georg Stage" and "Danmark"

Other Recent Works

Other Recent Works
Fordyce Castle and Village

Hay's Dock, Lerwick

Shetland-model Boats at Burravoe, Yell

Tall Ships Seascape

The Tour Boat "Dunter III", with Gannets, off Noss

The "Karen Ann II" entering Fraserburgh harbour

Summer Evening, Boyndie Bay

1930s Lerwick Harbour

Johnshaven Harbour

"Seabourn Legend"

Greeting Cards!

Greeting Cards!
Now Available in Packs of Five or in Assorted Sets of Four

Sunday 18 April 2010

THE HAZAEL III AND THE HESPERUS

Some months ago, I started to do a little history project, through this blog, on the subject of the old wooden 20ft Shetland model boat, which my father bought in a sieve-like condition, and restored to full seaworthiness by means of a mixture of fibreglass, glue and bits of board. We spent many happy summers thereafter, fishing in her with lines and exploring parts of the Shetland coast which, being inaccessible from land, had probably never seen the foot of man for many a day. Some day I plan to finish the story of this wonderful little boat, which my mother had christened "Hesperus" after the wreck in Longfellow's poem.

I was reminded of her this week, when someone made a posting on the Fishing Boats forum in www.shipsnostalgia.com about an old Fraserburgh drifter called the Hazael III, registration no. FR107. This was the number painted on the large plastic drift-net buoy which we found, on one of our "Hesperus" expeditions, jammed among the boulders on the beach in a rocky cove on the south end of Shetland mainland. The buoy, in good condition despite what it had encountered on its way to the cove, was a valuable find for a lad in his early teens, and it was duly taken to the Lerwick fishing agents LHD, who gave me the princely sum of 7s6d (37.5p!) for it. In the early 1960s this was real money!

I couldn't resist replying to the Shipsnostalgia post, telling them this little story.

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