In 2018, after 7 unforgettable years, Tim did indeed part ways with 'Albacore', the decommissioned wooden trawler he rescued from the scrap heap and converted in to a house boat.

Those of you who followed his journey from the very early days in Kilkeel in Northern Ireland and his (somewhat perilous) journey across the Irish Sea, through the years of life onboard and the ups and downs of restoration work slowly and meticulously carried out, thank you for your love and support throughout those crazy adventures, and rest assured that although Tim may have hung up his Cap’n’s hat, he will always be a Pirate at heart.

Our decision to sell wasn't easy and even now, several years later, we sometimes get nostalgic for life on board, so allow us to share with you some of our memories, our triumphs and disasters, from our years on board Albacore and how it was that that great, rusting old fishing trawler, rescued from the scrap heap by Tim, became The May Queen ...

'May Queen IV' was built in 1970 by Mackays of Arbroath as a larch-on-oak traditional fishing trawler. She was decommissioned in 2008 and in 2011, I took the ferry from Wales to Northern Ireland and travelled to Kilkeel where 'Albacore', as she was then, had spent her last years as a fishing vessel. The story goes that I bought this boat from an Irish fisherman in a bar, and who am I to argue with such a romantic tale? After several weeks in Kilkeel making repairs I then sailed her singlehandedly across the Irish Sea to Ilfracombe in North Devon. Whilst this is not a course of action I would recommend to everyone, the adventure makes a great anecdote and Lisa even managed to create a whole art project and story from the tale. You can read her (mostly?) fictional account of what happened in 'Salt in the Blood'. A cracking yarn indeed!

​This little film was cobbled together from a few snippets of video I took on my old camera whilst bringing 'Albacore' across the sea from Ireland to Ilfracombe in Cornwall in 2011. It looks relaxing and romantic, but it really wasn't. It was rough, dirty and terrifying. It was also an utterly unforgettable and life-changing adventure. Would I do it again? ... Probably ...

After the weeks spent alone in Ireland and my rather exhausting solo trip across the Irish Sea, it was a real joy to have my friend Ben come along for the journey around Cornwall, a journey which would see us setting out from Ilfracombe in North Devon and travelling first to Padstow where I moored for a few - (eye-wateringly expensive) - weeks, and then back to Cornwall again for the next leg around Land's End and into Newlyn harbour for one sneaky free night under the cloak of darkness, before finally setting out one glorious spring day in April 2011 for the final part of Albacore's journey up the south coast past St.Michael's Mount and Penzance, then The Lizard and Falmouth and finally, gratefully, on to Torpoint where we were to find our new home ...