Sula's story

Julia Jones explains how an English yacht became a Scottish workboat and how a 120-year-old Crinan Ferry design was upcycled

- Julia Jones

There's little point keeping old boats alive if their stories are forgotten, said Robert Armstrong when I apologised for my eagerness in inviting myself and my husband, Francis, to pay him a visit.

Robert is a boatbuilder (among many other occupations), working on the west coast of Scotland. His home is Sula, originally Mistrale, a 24' 5-ton Bermudan sloop, built in 1939 by David Hillyard in Littlehampton, Sussex. She's his mobile workshop and his transport, as well as his project and sailing pleasure.

When I invited us to visit, he was immediately welcoming though he couldn't be specific as to where he might be: "Everything I do is weather and tide dependant so planning beyond a few days never works out for me. If you contact me when you're in Scotland I'm sure we can figure out a plan. I may be down at Crinan fixing another boat by then, but wherever Sula is moored you're welcome to visit."

Relative connection

For me, Sula is Barnacle Goose, 'Barney', the yacht my parents owned from 1951 to 1957, in the first years of their marriage.

They'd bought her in Rye, fitted her out in a mud berth at Phillips Yard (now Martello Marine), then sailed her home to the River Deben in Suffolk.

My father was building up his business as a yacht broker and was also offering a small variety of craft for charter. In September 1951, Arthur and Evgenia Ransome hired Barnacle Goose for a 12-day 'carpet-slippered' cruise from Waldringfield. They visited Pin Mill on the River Orwell, the Walton Backwaters, the Orwell again. They met old friends, visited favourite places and caught up with the East Coast gossip.