Hi my name is Sharon and this page is dedicated to my boat Sequoia II.
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Hi my name is Sharon and this page is dedicated to my boat Sequoia II. |
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Sequoia was built for the Navy by a Thames based shipbuilders called Thorneycroft in 1939. She is classed as an ex-Naval Torpedo Recovery Vessel and as such spent the second World War sweeping The Channel and Solent for unexploded torpedoes. These were recovered before they could do active vessels serious damage.
Many boats made by Thorneycroft in the 1930s became Dunkirk Little Ships. The Association of Dunkirk Little Ships gives more information on these boats and their part in the war.
After being decommissioned from the Navy in 1951, Sequoia was converted to the liveaboard vessels she is today. She has had a number of owners over the years but her last few years have been spent on the Thames. I have owned Sequoia since November 1999 and now live aboard her at Penton Hook Marina.
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Sequoia and I now live at Penton Hook Marina which is directly opposite Thorpe Park, near Staines in Surrey. The marina is the biggest inland marina in the U.K. and is owned by a larger company, Marine Developments Ltd, who also own a number of other marinas throughout England. The picture at the top of the page shows her being lifted from the marina at the end of last year to be surveyed. She is 40ft long and has a 10ft beam which makes her a fairly heavy lump to move about. Over Christmas, a local company, AquaMarine Ltd, did a lot of work to the interior of the boat to bring her up to date and make her more comfortable to live on. She is still by no means finished and I have come to learn that owning a boat is a bit like painting the Forth Bridge. Once you think you have finished, you have to start at the beginning again! Sequoia is gradually being fitted out so that she can once again go to sea. I have a long way to go but the lessons learned so far have been great fun - one of the first and most important lessons being how to get on and off the boat after after a few drinks without falling in! |