NEWBUILD NEWS. December 2021: ‘Flute an Arrow’. The third St.Ives Sailing Punt nears completion…

Earlier in the year, former classic yacht skipper, Nick Mahlich, recognised that another lockdown would provide a golden opportunity to fulfil a long-held ambition, ie. to build a boat from scratch, and so approached me to help make it happen. This, then, is a joint project as Nick has participated throughout the build. I’ve always maintained that building a boat is just about the most creative thing you can do with wood. This project is no exception and has proved to be essential therapy for us both during the winter months of Covid restrictions!

Jan 2022. The remaining shores that have secured her in position since the keel was laid, have finally been removed in order to profile the top of the transom and fit the hand-forged iron stemband – a feature of all my boats. This is the moment when the new-born boat moves for the first time, as if drawing her first breath.

LAUNCH DAY 26 March 2022, St. Ives Harbour.

She was named ‘Flute an Arrow’ – a term of affection my father used when we were small. It’s actually an anglicisation of a Cornish expression, once popular in the St.Ives district, meaning ‘Child of my heart‘. The recently retired curator of St.Ives museum, Brian Stevens, also remembers being greeted in this way by elderly ladies when he was still in the push chair. Her name, therefore, forges an association with the town whilst helping to preserve a little piece of local history.