John Tancred
John Tancred by the Dart
John Tancred - Living On the Dart
From where do you originate?
Well, my mother was French and my father was South African and I was born in Aylesbury because my father had been seconded to the RAF to learn to fly jets as was the form for most Commonwealth countries in that era. He had decided to stay on with them for a time but unfortunately six months after my twin and I were born (mother’s second set) my father was killed in a flying accident and she decided to take us out to my father’s home country first to Underberg and then to just south west of Durban where my mother gained employment as a secretary in a sugar cane business.
I was never aware at the time of any hardship as such but I am sure coping with four children on her own would not have been easy. We stayed in South Africa until I was coming eleven and we then returned to this country.
My mother subsequently married a man who had been her boyfriend prior to my father, which I think, is rather romantic! They lived here in Dartmouth in Swannerton Road and some people will know them; Captain Peter and Monique Wyatt. He was very involved in the Dartmouth & Kingswear Society and also as Church Warden at St Petrox Church for many years. I have to say I learnt an awful lot from him.
My school life was a bit chequered by all the moving around we did. I went to over 15 schools, but on returning to this country I went to a crammer before being accepted by Pangbourne Nautical College from which I left in semi-disgrace as ‘a boy beyond discipline’ which is how the letter described me to my parents. In truth, it was I who had made the decision I was going to leave one way or another!
What career path did you choose?
I was never orientated to a career or any path. I have always been involved in something of the moment and never look further than the day I am in. That is the nature of me and I do not make comparison between myself and others. I have earned a living in a variety of ways from busking to now being a shipwright.
I didn’t actually learn to play a guitar until I was forty (some might query how well but I do it for myself!) but I am self taught. I learnt to play three chords and to strum and how to make quite beautiful sounds with the simplest of application and over the years I have found picking up the guitar and composing a song to be very good for anger management.
I now enjoy working on boats and I take a great care and responsibility in my work. Boats are very vulnerable things and I have a duty of care to the people who are going to use it. This year I am hoping to start a project to build lightweight ply clinker built rowing dinghies designed by Iain Oughtred which are ideal for recreational rowing which is enjoyed by so many on the Dart. I actually act as cox for a couple of rowing crews.
When did you get involved with boats?
From a very early age I had a small sailing boat and would quite often decide to sleep on her. From the age of sixteen I’m afraid my parents got quite distraught when I would decide to sail off for two or three weeks and they were unsure of my whereabouts. I originally got to know the Dart as it was a stop off on my way somewhere else.
The boat I have now, Storm Gull, which I live on, was built in Scandinavia in 1938. Based on an old Folk design, she is 30ft long with 9ft beam which is an ideal size for me as I like to do single-handed sailing. During the four years I have owned her, I have done some repairs. But since she is now some seventy three years of age, I will soon be taking her out of the water to my workshop in Kingswear for some major surgery.
I adore living on the Dart! I wake up every morning to the best view in the world. I have a great passion for the weather, not just the sunshine but the vagaries of British weather. I lived in the Canary Islands for a while but I must admit I did become irritated and bored with day after day sunshine – the place where I lived hadn’t had rain for 30 years! I often don’t listen to the weather forecast, it isn’t always right. I think the weather has a taste and a feel to it and sometimes I actually just quite like a surprise which is another reason why I like living on the river.
My last boat I sailed for 21 years without the use of an engine, just the elements, and I sailed the entire western seaboard of Europe from North Africa up to Iceland. In fact, I had no radio or electrics on the boat whatsoever - just paraffin lamps and a wood burning stove and I used a lead line when I wanted to check the depth of water. It is possible to live life very simply.
One thing I would say, is that over the years I have lived on many rivers and in just as many harbours and of necessity you build up a relationship with the harbour authority in question. I have to say that I have only good things to say about the staff who work on the river for the Dart Harbour Authority. They are the people that the Board should perhaps be listening to as they have the experience to know how things work for the best!
First published July 2011 By the Dart