The Fishing Port of Teignmouth

Is our new home. Not far from Torbay, approximately 12 miles ,up the coast we know it quite well. Mike lived here from the age of 12 until we got married in 1965 and of course I visited often.

When we were young our local pub was The Ship which is on the River beach. Many a good night spent in there singing along to Lily the Pink by the Scaffold and Manfred Mann’s The Mighty Quinn. We were married then and lived in a modern terraced house in Chelston Torquay. We rarely stayed overnight so I guess we drove home drunk or sober. How scary is that but it was the norm.

Many of Mike’s friends were fishermen, men who worked hard and played hard. A great bunch of guys in the main.

I was reminded of them last weekend when one of the fishing boats, The Girl Rhona, ran aground on a sandbank by the mouth of the river.Five fishermen on board were rescued unharmed, in a dangerous operation which saw the lifeboat which went to their aid, also damaged. This boat is now manned by sons of the men we knew and everyone in the town is so delighted that they were all rescued. The outcome could have been so different.

The boat is still sitting on the sand bank being pounded every second by the relentless waves. We drove down to the seafront yesterday to look and I took this photo on a very long lens.

Reminded me also of this wonderful hymn -

 

Eternal Father strong to save
Whose arm has bound the restless wave
Who bids the mighty ocean deep
It's own appointed limits keep
O hear us when we cry to Thee
For those in Peril on the sea

The original hymn was written by William Whiting of Winchester, England, in 1860.