Chance in a million

When my father was alive he spent his retirement on the Hamble at Warsash to be closer to the great love of his life: boats. Whilst seldom getting around to paying his own boat much attention he was always involved with other peoples, helping them with various jobs on their vessels which is what seemed to please him most. One evening a yacht hove into view crewed by a single man, dad leapt at the opportunity to help him tie up at the visitors jetty and learned that he had come up the Spanish coast and was heading up the west coast of England into Scotland, then back home across the Atlantic to Canada. He obviously appreciated the help Dad had provided and took him to the quay side pub for a pint by way of thanks. By the time Dad made his way down to the jetty to following morning the chap had departed. About a month later the Canadian was tying up on the Isle of Muck having made his way up the coast as planned. One of the locals came down to help him and as they were securing the yacht, the Canadian took a long look at this man. ‘You know something?’ he said, ‘You look just like the guy that helped me tie up at Southampton.’ ‘Would that have been in Warsash?’ his new friend asked. Astonished, the Canadian replied that it was and that Bill McFarlane was the man’s name, did this chap know him? ‘A bit’, came the reply. My names Tom McFarlane, Bill’s my brother’.