07/08/2026
On my way to read the electric meter at the Boat Haven today I took this photo....of a photo!
The story of "Auld Erin" John Hughson (1837-1909) from Gardin, Colvadale, known as Auld Erin, the sea eagle, was skipper of a sixareen .
The story goes that a visitor to the island went with the men on a trip in the sixareen . The weather turned nasty and they had to row for their lives to get back before their boat was overwhelmed by the sea, as many had done before. After they had rowed for some considerable time, Erin considered that they were now at a distance from the land that he considered safe, though to the untrained eye of the visitor it must have seemed that they were still in mid ocean and in the midst of the fierce storm. The visitor was later reported to have said , of Erin, that "He hoched up his oar in the midst of a tempest , and took s***f on the brink of eternity!"
This and lots more like it can be seen when you visit the Boat Haven, what looks like an unassuming shed from the outside, never disappoints once visitors venture in.
