Phoenix from the Ashes: The boat that rebuilt our lives [Paperback]

The book is touching and recounts some hilarious anecdotes ... The story is told by Justin in an incredibly honest and modest way, and their lives are a great example of what can be achieved with a little ambition and a lot of hard work. --Telegraph

Every now and again you come across a book the world needs to read, and this is one of them.
--Jenni Davis

I have been in tears several times - mostly of laughter, and once out of sympathy... Every now and again you come across a book the world needs to read, and this is one of them. -- Jenni Davis

'Good will come of this.' I don't know why I said that...the fire crew walked back down the hill - there was nothing they could do. As we stood there watching the house collapse in flames, I put my arms around Linda, who was sobbing uncontrollably. All we owned now were the old clothes in which we stood, and an old car for which we no longer had a key. After a fire destroyed their house, Justin and his wife Linda irrationally decided to build a 15-ton classic yacht, as complete amateurs - starting with the trees. Working under the watchful eye of local sheep farmers who gave freely of their advice, how could they possibly fail? Once built, they set off for seven years aboard the prettiest boat you've ever seen to search out the hidden paradises and wildernesses in Scotland, France, Cornwall and Ireland, meeting the quirky, sometimes odd, but always entertaining characters who inhabit the shoreline. Told through his beautiful narrative and exquisite illustrations, Justin Ruthven-Tyers' story is unexpected and extraordinary.

We weren't the most likely people to live on a boat; nor were we the most likely people to build one ...we weren't even the most likely people to lose our house in a fire - yet all these things happened, and one thing seemed to lead naturally to another.

Somehow, losing everything - having nothing left - brings with it the once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to start again with a blank page, informed by all that you have done; yet free from it too.

We made some unconventional decisions that set us on an adventure which placed us beyond the well-intentioned help and advice of family and friends; who could only look-on appalled. Some of our decisions hurt us, some still do - because something is lost when something is gained; and to really set yourself free, we've learned, you have to choose a path from which there can be no turning back.

When I sat down to tell our story, I set about writing it so that it would be enjoyed not just by people who like sailing boats, and by people who dream of building one - nor even just for people who intend to set their houses on fire ...I wanted it to be enjoyed by life-loving, book-loving readers, who enjoy being taken to places they haven't yet been.

Justin Ruthven-Tyers is an illustrator and author. He and his wife now live aboard the beautiful classic yacht they built themselves, as described in this book.