Arson boat rises as Phoenix - Express & Star
A heartwarming story, as erstwhile boat Emerald returns to the water at Coven. It's no longer Emerald, neither in colour nor in name.
This is the boat that vandals arsonists burned last year, and it turned out their insurance didn't cover it. Previous story starts here, then goes on here, here and here.
Well, local boaters gathered round. And they've rebuilt the hull, and it's now back at their home mooring. (I photographed the sadly empty mooring while passing it last Dec 29th). Emerald Phoenix is well on its way to becoming a home once again.
The story in the Express & Star is especially notable for its excellent video report from Wendy Lloyd. It shows how newspapers and TV are merging together.
Julie, aged 46, and Dave, 51, hope to move back in by Easter when the electrics and other finishing touches are complete.
She said today: “The first two or three months were extremely hard and I barely slept, but the response we had after the story went in the newspaper has been overwhelming. We’ve had just over 40ft of new cabin put on and salvaged the rest.”
Among the donations were £750 from Featherstone Prison, £250 from Breast Cancer Care in Walsall and £500 from a sympathetic boater.
Julie said: “On top of that, all the £5 and £10 donations added up. We have written to all those who left an address but to those who didn’t, we also want to say a huge thankyou from the bottom of our hearts.”
One of the biggest thanks deserves to go to Dave Pokhan, who's done a stunning cheerleading job. Julie describes him as 'an absolutely fantastic man'.
I have to say that when I first heard the story, I wondered if Dave realised what he had committed to, and whether he could carry through.
Well, he's put me to shame. He and the team have been awesome - and are still at work in their spare time. He's clearly a credit to his employer, Lovato, but he's only one of many who deserve honour.
I love how the boat turned out purple because 'that's the colour that all the donated paint became when it was mixed together'! Purple is a royal and lucky colour.
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