Chris Busby-Taking Harrison Butler yacht from Falmouth with Cecilia
Channel: drdrwoland
Date: 14/04/2019

I put some antifouling paint on Caracole, which had been ashore all winter in Falmouth, we put her in the water and Cecilia and I took her to the Helford river. There was a capful of Easterly wind and the old girl picked up her heels and made 7 knots. Caracole is a Harrison Butler designed 6-tonner (26ft x 8ft x 5ft) built of pitchpine on oak in 1934 at Harry Felthams yard in Portsmouth. She was designed for Harrison Butler's daughter in law, Joan Bogle who went on to become Agatha Christies's Miss Marple in the films. She is in a bit of a state and in fact the engine electrics packed up so I had to jump start the diesel with a spare battery and car jump leads, sparks and smoke etc. The boat is haunted, and is always quite snooty with me: I think she thinks I am insufficiently superior given her previous owners. One of them died on board and she ran on and grounded herself in Turkey. But what fun: she went like a train.