INTERVIEW
Tony with Earl Mountbatten at IW industries exhibition
Portsmouth and back to his beloved Isle of Wight .
Homeward Bound
Still aged only 20 , but with a wealth of marine experience , he landed a job at Woodnuts Boatyard on the Duver at St Helens – which lasted for six months until the firm went bust . He managed to get work at Bembridge Sailing Club , but only so that he could save enough money to buy his own workshop building at a Government Surplus Auction being held at Culver Downs . He bagged the 60ft x 20ft workshop for the princely sum of £ 65 – assisted by old school friend Guy Chappel who put down half the cash . Their plan was to start a boat building and repair business , but with nowhere to put the workshop they stored the parts at the Keith Nelson Boat building site at Bembridge Harbour . “ It took months to sort out but eventually we got the go-ahead and with the help of my dad we erected our workshop and called the business Chamans , which was a combination of our two surnames .
Chamans Years
The Chamans business became known
for its wooden clinker boats , and one of the first commissions was from Maurice Oakham , who ran the Ryde Canoe Lake franchise and deckchairs at The Pavilion . “ We didn ’ t take him seriously at first but on his third visit he showed us half of a model boat and asked us to build a 36-ft version to carry 40 passengers . “ He didn ’ t have a drawing for us to work from so we built Telstar by scaling all measurements off this small model . “ Unbelievably the boat got finished and the last I heard a few years ago , it was still afloat ”. Tony and Guy followed Telstar with a fishing boat and then a 26-ft cabin cruiser that was built on spec . They took that one to the Island Industries Fair at Ryde Airport – and were delighted when the late Lord Louis Mountbatten came aboard and greatly admired the craft . Sadly , it was not long afterwards that the Earl died at the hands of IRA terrorist bombers . After an exciting and challenging seven years running the business , Tony went to work for Cheverton Workboats , where all his experience was brought into play . “ I ended up working all over the place ,” he says . From delivering boats all over Europe to being involved with big events such as the Paris Boat Show , Tony ’ s passion for boat building took him on journeys that few other careers could have offered . He has a fund of colourful tales – like the time he was sent to bring back a damaged craft from the storm-hit 1979 Fastnet Race . He set sail on the ferry from Ireland to Pembroke with the damaged craft on a trailer , and hit another gale , which led to the yacht smashing into the side of a lorry and sustaining even more damage . By the time he finally delivered what was left of it back to Hamble Marina for towing across the Solent , the journey had involved detours along a railway track and swaying precariously across the Severn Bridge , which had been closed to all other traffic because of the high winds . “ It was a great relief to say ‘ job done ’ on that one – but it was only just !” he laughs . With his enthusiasm for boats still as high as ever , Tony continues to enjoy his daily routine in the workshop , working usually from 9am until 3.30pm , a workload that would defeat many a younger person . “ It ’ s not hard work when you ’ re doing what you love to do ” he says . And as for those memoirs ? Father-oftwo Tony says they are being written mainly for the benefit of his family , so that upcoming generations will be able to reflect on a life lived to the full .
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