I was wandering along the sea front in Sliema when I spotted my boat in the marina with all it hatches open! Obviously some rogue was on board! I was furious who was on my yacht Lotus eater? It suddenly became apparent to me that all the years of walking through this marina admiring this particular yacht, had gradually created a false sense of ownership in me. I laughed but have to admit a lingering resentment.
Isn’t it strange how the brain can play tricks on you. There was me thinking I was merely admiring the beauty and her lines but slowly a very odd sense of ownership had obviously developed. I do admire boats especially beautiful ones like this. But I am no fool, I had a landlord in The Isle of Wight who owned three 10-20m long wooden yachts and I knew that their upkeep relied on him being a full time shipwright working non-stop to maintain them. If you don’t have those skills you would soon become bankrupt trying to maintain even one of these beauties.
I tried to find out who the owner was, but with little success. Apparently it used to belong to John Paul a rather shady millionaire businessman who originally had property in Soho and links with criminals. In the 1970s, he was one of the first developers on Camino. His ex-wife had been shot in Essex and although two thugs were found guilty of her murder they refused to say who had paid them for the killing. The British government wanted him extradited but the Maltese authorities refused.
The strange thing is whenever I tried to find out who owns it now I came up with a blank. Probably some corporation or other. There are some strange names to boats along the marina. For example one is called Lucky Guy. Given that the owner is involved in betting companies it probably vaguely appropriate but really annoying. Even more irritating is a huge motor cruiser called Loose Change. Now that is just too smug!
Further along the coast towards Valetta there is another ship. It was originally called Black Opal and later renamed The Black Pearl in Malta. The ship was built in Pukavik, Sweden, in 1909 as a wooden trading schooner designed for Baltic cargo work and harsh northern waters. It had a double-layered oak hull to survive Baltic ice conditions and was about 150 feet long with three tall masts. Originally it carried cargoes like: timber, coal, and grain around Scandinavia.
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What happened afterward is almost implausible: The Black Pearl sailed toward Australia as a luxury vessel, but suffered hull problems, and caught fire near the Suez Canal. Following that it sank in Malta and was salvaged from 70ft deep water and went on to appear in the Popeye movie starring Robin Williams. Weirdly, it sank again then was permanently restored ashore at Ta’ Xbiex as a restaurant. For years the schooner has sat perched beside the marina at Ta’ Xbiex and has become a landmark restaurant/pub/event venue with views over Valletta harbour.
There is rumoured to be a connection between the Black Pearl and the famous actor Erol Flynn however these are not substantiated by solid facts. After all he owned his own schooner the Zaca shown below, another beautiful ship.
"Strong ships are not conquered by the sea; they ride the waves! Now be a strong ship, not a battered one."
'Abdu'l-Bahá
