Another piece in the Chico jigsaw

Tracing a boat's history relies on chance and a slice of good luck.  An entry in Lloyds Log or the Registry of Ownership can give some details of names and dates, but old photos and reminiscences fill in the background.

 Out of the blue last year I was emailed by a lady, Joan, who, as a little girl, had spent time on Chico in the 1950's, and was able to tell me something of the owners, Garry and Beth Tennison from Glasgow.  They had spent a lot of time on board in their six years of ownership, and travelled widely.

Joan had recently been in contact with a distant cousin in Tasmania, also related to Garry and Beth, who was able to dig among old family albums and find the following photos.

 Chico at Bowling Basin, near Dumbarton, circa 1954

Bowling Basin 1954 again, but now with the saloon painted white.

Lying at anchor at Crinan, July 1954

Beth and Garry sitting on the locker in front of the wheelhouse

Since then Chico has been in the Baltic, the Med, Bristol, back at Crinan, Aberdeen, the South coast of England, the Thames, France, and who knows where else before we brought her back to the West of Scotland.  

We've anchored at the same spot off Crinan, sat on the same locker, and enjoyed the same feeling as Garry and Beth 63 years ago.  Chico's an old boat now, but in 1954 she was still 22 years old with at least 4 previous owners and 6 years of war.  It just goes to show that with old boats you don't really own them, you just look after them for future owners. 

Thank you, Joan, for googling "Chico" and filling in another piece of that jigsaw.