During 1973 I was self-employed but, as Mr Heath's government was causing a great downturn in my business, I decided to return to sea for short voyages. My final voyage was aboard Westondyke, one of the vessels included in Roy Fenton's article Wee Scotts coasters (SM, June). I joined the vessel in the lock at Sharpness on 26 July 1977 and sailed with her for 21 days. We took scrap to Aviles, and then went to Bordeaux to load concrete sections for a sewage system in Cork. After discharge we proceeded to Blaye, on the river Gironde, to load grain for Gunness, where I paid off on 15 August 1977. Of interest might be the two photographs of this same vessel, one taken 20 years later and the second a further six years on, when I came across the vessel unintentionally.
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