When your boat bloats . . .

Mr. John Melling decided some years ago to build a yacht in his backyard.

Mr Melling built the yacht so that he and wife, Sue, a primary school teacher, who got married in the same garden, can enjoy sailing.

"We will be taking this boat to Greece eventually, after I have retired, to spend some time in the sunshine," said the keen sailor.

So far, so good. He built a 30-foot-long, 26-foot-wide trimaran. It looks very nifty.




There's just one small problem.

It's so big that he can't get it out of his back yard.

He protests that he was aware of the problem.

"It's not as though I'm some idiot who got the measurements wrong and is now stuck with a boat he can't move," he said.

"I knew from the start that once the boat was finished I would face some problems getting it out of the garden.

"RAF St Mawgan used to airlift boats for people in similar situations as me and used it as a training opportunity.

"But apparently they don't do that anymore - so I am going to have to take the fence down to get the boat out now."

I suspect that all Mr. Melling's friends are about to be invited to a fence-removing and boat-lifting party! May I suggest large quantities of beer as a lubricant?



Peter