I have been keeping my eye on the QE2 on the AIS system, as she makes her way around Britain on her farewell cruise before she becomes a floating hotel in Dubai. At the time of writing, she has just left South Queensferry for Newcastle. Last week she called into Douglas bay and many folks got up early to go and take a look at her. I can understand why people would want to go and see such a prestigious ship. I have been ship mad, or at least boat mad, just about all my life. Yet the visit of the QE2 just didn’t do anything for me. Some people will have had to get out of bed at around 4 a.m in order to catch a glimpse of this floating majesty.

Many times in the past I have had to arise early on behalf of a boat. Frequently as a teenager I would be out of my bed at 3 or 4 in the morning to go and haul lobster pots with my lifelong friend, Michael Quine who owned and fished from the boat Siesta. The boat was just a 16 foot long timber vessel with an outboard engine. In winter we would freeze, and when we came ashore several hours after sailing our feet were so cold, we could hardly feel the ground beneath them. On occasions when I arrived home after a rough trip, I would say “never again”. Yet the following morning I would drag myself from my bed and repeat the whole exercise all over again. In the summertime it was a different story though, getting up just as the dawn chorus was beginning. We would walk out to Derbyhaven carrying cans of petrol, lunch and flasks. With a gentle sea breeze blowing through your hair, the dawn chorus getting louder and louder as you walked, and the sound of the waves braking on the shore, it was the most pleasant walk to work anyone could have. We would have to row out to the Siesta in a small punt. Once we had loaded all our gear, Michael would give a pull on the outboard and we were away. The Siesta was small and cramped. There was no shelter from the elements and just enough room to sit between the ropes, anchors, boat hooks, and lobster pots. You were wet through for the whole voyage. However, for me there was nothing more exhilarating than feeling the little Siesta gently rise and fall over the small waves as we headed out from Derbyhaven breakwater for a days lobstering. With the sea breeze, the sun in my face, and the Siesta gently dancing beneath my feet, it was the most magical experience in the world. For me the QE2 doesn’t even come close to my many voyages on the Siesta. If I had been offered the choice of cruising to some of the great exotic places in this world onboard the QE2, there would have been no contest. When I was onboard the little Siesta, I really was at sea doing what I loved best, and I was the luckiest kid/teenager to have had so many wonderful experiences. I’m sure sailing on the QE2 is a wonderful once in a lifetime experience for many people. However I had hundreds of thrilling trips, and spent endless happy days onboard the little Siesta. Wild horses would not have got me from my bed to go and say farewell to the QE2 last week. But it would have taken wild horses to keep me in my bed 35 years ago from spending a day fishing on the Siesta. Maybe sometimes we can see the stars, but not the ground beneath our feet. Happiness sometimes can be found right under your nose.

Tom Glassey on the banks of the Silverburn River.