Mike Williams continued

Friday 14th May 1982. Anyway on the morning we were there, first,we ran ropes through under the bridge. We had 3 lead ropes one on the port one on the starboard bow and one on the central beam. Off the stern exactly the same.

So the minute she came afloat she was pulled ahead under the bridge and clear of the bridge. She actually floated at eight minutes past six and I had her clear of the bridge at 6. 15 so we had quite a bit of time left. It was a nice quiet morning, she slipped under and went through nice.

When they started to do her up as the restaurant they were going to try and keep the engine and enclose it in a kind of glass case so people could see it as they came on board the restaurant but it never happened. I think the state of the engine had gone beyond what you could do. They put false paddles on her.

David wanted a lightship originally. He searched desperately. That was the big thing at the time. Everyone was converting these lightships over to restaurants. When he couldn't come up with one he then went for the Compton Castle.

It cost him mega money to get it done. The interior decoration was fantastic.

Like I said we were privileged, me and John, and all those involved with her were invited as guests for the first do on her at Truro. And then a week or so later she opened proper”