Author turns beloved memories of boating with her late father into debut children's book

In My Dad, Our Boat, and Me, author Kelly Piercey retells the adventures she had with her father on their boat in Trinity Bay. (Henrike Wilhelm/CBC)

For 20 years, on a boat called Mine and Dad's, Kelly Piercey of Norman's Cove-Long Cove and her late father, Hayward Smith, collected adventures on the waters of Trinity Bay.

Now Piercey has collected those adventures — like the time a mischievous mink hopped into their boat — into her debut children's book.

Memories of the ocean's smell and the blue scenery stretching from the boat to the horizon. Barbecues on the dock watching fireworks. Spotting visiting dolphins and eagles, and fishing for cod. Piercey told CBC News in a recent interview the fun she and her dad had would catch the attention of children and adults in the area who'd ask to join them on their trips.

Memories of the ocean's smell, the blue scenery stretching from the boat to the horizon from the boat, the barbecues on the dock watching fireworks, spotting the visiting dolphin or eagle, and fishing cod. Another story in the book details a time that a mischievous mink hopped and their boat.

Piercey and her father's boat and its tales caught the attention of children and adults in the area who would ask to join them on their trips, Piercey told CBC News in a recent interview.

"I would often get children running up to the dock saying, 'Can I sit in the captain's chair? Can I wear the captain's hat?'" she said. Their reactions inspired Piercey, following a 20-year career in radio, to share the stories in a book, being released Sunday, named My Dad, Our Boat, and Me, illustrated by Kelly Bastow and published by Engen Books.

All the stories are true with one exception: the daughter in the book is a child.

"All those little moments were so exciting for us as adults. I thought, 'Well, what would a child do if they had this in illustration form in a book?'" she said.

Piercey also decided not to give the girl in the book a name so any child reading it could easily see themselves in the adventures.

Piercey and her father, Hayward Smith, are seen here at a wedding about 15 years ago. Smith died of skin cancer in October 2020. (Ted Dillon/CBC)

Piercey's father didn't have a chance to see the book — he died of skin cancer in October 2020. Shortly after he got sick, Piercey's mother, Sylvia, was diagnosed with dementia. In the midst of it all, Piercey started working on the boat.

Then they were hit with another loss: their boat. Its wood started to rot. Piercey says her father was replacing the pieces one by one but wasn't able to finish before he died.

"I lost my father and I lost the boat," Piercey said.

"But the memories will live on for everybody to enjoy."

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