Introduction (Part 2)

During the summer of '67, I was on an amazing adventure. I had just crossed the Atlantic Ocean on an ocean liner. After which, I was living in Scotland with my grandmother at her youngest brother's house... my Uncle Edward's house.

Over the summer, mostly on weekends, we travelled to Edinburgh, Sterling, Inverness, Loch Ness, and the Scottish Highlands. I was learning some of the history of Scotland: wars that were fought; and buildings built before Christopher Columbus came to North America.

One such weekend trip, my grandmother took me to Skerray. A small village in northern Scotland. There we visited with my grandmother's best friend's family; that of my Aunt Jean. While there, it was decided I should dress up for church. At it so happened, they had a kilt, jacket, sporran, et al. that fit me. So, I dressed in the clan MacDonald colours, as shown in the photo below.

Kevin, dressed in the traditional Scottish Highlands manner for Sunday mass

During the week, we stayed close to Glasgow. Uncle Edward and I would take a bus and then, walk to his mooring in Clydebank. We would row out to his mooring to work on his boat: Rosalie.

The Rosalie has a story of her own, which is worth telling. During World War II, the Queen Mary was used to transport troops across the Atlantic. In the process, she had been shot up by German U-Boats (submarines). Thankfully, she was never torpedoed. At one point she was sent back to the John Brown shipyards in Glasgow, Scotland. There, she was repaired and refitted. This work included the replacement of the old lifeboats with a newer design.  The older lifeboats came with oars and a short mast. The newer lifeboats had a diesel engine.

The Queen Mary was originally built in the John Brown shipyards. These famous shipyards were the birthplace of many great ships: Lusitania, Empress of Britain, Queen Mary, Queen Elizabeth, Royal Yacht Britannia, Queen Elizabeth II (QE2). Many naval ships were also built here.

Uncle Edward was working in the shipyards at the time. He purchased one of the older lifeboats. Over the years, he converted the lifeboat into a cabin cruiser/motor sailer and named the boat Rosalie; after his wife.

It was on the Rosalie that Uncle Edward taught me what it meant to be a seaman. I learned to tie knots;  work on diesel engines; the care of wooden boats; reading tide tables; coastal navigation; and among other things, sailing.

During this time, we spent many days working on the Rosalie, and also spent several nights on her. As I looked off the stern (back), I could see the River Clyde and the John Brown shipyard on the far bank. At night, there were lots of lights and all kind of activity. They were building the Queen Elizabeth 2, simply referred to as the QE2.

Construction of the Queen Elizabeth 2 at the John Brown Shipyard, Glasgow, Scotland

QE2 Departing along the River Clyde

Uncle Edward's dream was to sail the Rosalie across the Atlantic to New York. In those days, you could count solo sailors on one hand. He would not take that voyage alone. After working together for the summer, he decided that he and I could do it together. Aunt Rose was concerned, but Uncle Edward addressed all those concerns. My grandmother trusted her brother's judgement. My mother, also trusted uncle Edward's judgement and that was reenforced by her mother's approval. So, why didn't we do it? My father answered with an emphatic "No!".