The Story of a ship

Goodnight Irene is the story of a ship. A ship that holds a singular place in British Maritime history. Of a once vast fleet of West Country Merchantmen, she is the sole survivor still to sail. It is also the story of a man; the man who found her, rescued her, restored her and sails her.

The substance of the book is a sailors yarn. The yarn is woven into a canvas, a weft and weave of tribulation and ecstasy. On it is painted the picture of a relationship, that of a man and ship. By profession the man is a psychiatrist, a healer of delusions. Yet it is his fantasies that the picture illuminates. The inner theme runs down that blurred edge between dream and reality. Much of the book is light and irreverent; the author defuses and debunks life when viewed too seriously.

The story starts 36 years ago. The Irene lies derelict on the Hamble river. In naivete or madness (a recurring question that is never answered) the author buys the ship. She sails to London. Repair, restoration and conversion to a home are followed by a fire that sweeps the ship and leaves in its devastation the seeds of significant change.

The story-line becomes wayward. Tales of sailing are interrupted with cameos of history, philosophy, psychiatry and self-revelation. The direction is regained with the final voyage back to the waters of the West Country, to culminate in farce-flavoured triumph. A short post-script annotates the history subsequent to the end of the story and on to the present.

Author - Leslie Morrish

Leslie Morrish was born in a house bordering the harbour of Greenock. With Clyde air in his lungs and Devon blood in his veins, it should be no surprise that he is besotted with the sea. But his career was to be that of a sedentary academic. Scholarships notched the path to professional success and it was not until such goals were achieved that his lust for the sea was fulfilled in his affair with the Irene. Doctor, fellow, psychiatrist, consultant, University lecturer, clinical tutor, medical director and a string of letters, pale against his proudest epithet - Captain.

Goodnight Irene is available in hardback at a price of £15.00.

If you would like to order a copy (personally signed by Leslie Morrish) send us an e-mail at gni@ireness.com