Nan of Kames

(ex Seonella )

An Invited Friend of the Harrison Butler Association
The sloop built in 1953 to a design by James McGruer 

Nan of Kames in Poole Harbour

I used to own a Harrison Butler...
I met Greg Skelton aboard his boat, Nan of Kames, in Milford Haven, August 2014. He'd spotted the Harrison Butler burgee on Tramontana and introduced himself as a previous owner of Diana, built to THB's Cyclone Design. His cabin was a workshop of electrical and electronic cables, as he's a keen supporter of the TeamSurv Project. He also had many Taylor's paraffin stove parts in various stages of refurbishment; we bonded over out dislike of LPG, and jointly enthused about the joys and quirks of our Taylor's stoves.
Nan of Kames is a beautiful boat, that's cruised extensively in the Baltic during 2009/2010. She's fitted with AIS and Greg showed me how he could look up that day's voyage of a friends similarly equiped boat amongst Islands in the Baltic, via the internet. Greg is clearly into cutting edge technology alongside the best of the old.
A November 2017 Update
Greg writes, Nan has done some roaming since we met. We took her to the south coast of Ireland in 2015 and 'round the corner' onto the west coast to the Dingle. The west coast is impressive and beautiful. I thought about leaving the boat there for the winter to return for more but it's a difficult commute out to Bantry Bay and I feared Nan would be neglected. So I sailed her back via Kinsale and Falmouth to Southsea Marina. The following year we went across to France and around to the South Brittany coast, taking in the Morbihan and ending up on the Vilaine river where she spent the winter in Redon. This year, 2017, I sailed back 'home' to Southsea.
As Seonella
Launched as Nan of Kames, the name reinstated by Greg when he became her owner in the 1990s, she was renamed Seonella in 1957 and carried that name right through the 1960s, 1970s, and 1980s.

Nan of Kames Statistics
Built : 1953 by Bute Slip Dock Co Ltd, Port Bannatyne, Ardmaleish
LOA : 33' 0"
LWL : 24' 6"
Beam : 8' 4"
Draught : 5' 6"
Displacement : 8 tons TM
Lloyd's Register : N° 185002 

Nan of Kames Custodians & Home Ports 
Greg Skelton, John Floutier (1990s-2017...) Milford Haven
Mr & Mrs JE Brown (1980-?) Gourock
JA Campbell (1972-1979) Clynder
Mr & Mrs George Gray (1962-1971) Clynder
James M Mowat (1955-1961) Glasgow
Peter M Wilson (1953-1955) Port Bannatyne

Nan of Kames Links
• The tin whistle tune, Nan of Kames by Nick Skelton

Page last updated : November 2017

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