A SAILING enthusiast's labour of love has won him recognition in an international magazine.

Two years ago Hugh Watlington bought the rotting carcass of Shamrock, a sloop that had been trawling Bermuda's waters while Nelson was demolishing the French and Spanish fleets at Trafalgar.

Within six months, the vessel was restored to its former glory and could be seen skirting the craggy coastline of Bermuda, just as she did two centuries previously.

And it wasn't long before the transformation job reached the newsdesk of WoodenBoat, the US-based glossy magazine for boating enthusiasts.

Mr. Watlington was soon roped in to write an article for the publication ¿ and his literary endeavours appear on the pages of the November/December issue.

The five-page spread recalls how Mr. Watlington, along with shipwright Manuel Palamo, lovingly restored the shattered cedar timbers into one of the most eye-catching vessels on the water. The issue also features articles on fitted dinghies and Bermuda cedar.