Portsmouth man can ‘continue to live the dream’ after community rallies to buy him new boat to live on

Last month Matthew Baldock, 40, had a lucky escape after his boat caught fire due to a gas leak. He was taken to hospital with smoke inhalation but was left ‘devastated’ after his houseboat on Ferry Road, Southsea, was completely destroyed.

Not only did Matthew lose his home but also all his possessions including his clothing, work laptop and passport.

Matthew said: ‘It has taken a while to get used to the scale of loss. Even now I will sometimes go to grab my passport or jacket and realise they are no longer here and it brings everything back.’

After hearing about the tragic incident, friends and local community groups rallied round to ‘help get Matthew back on his feet’. Friend, Kirsty Gordon, set up a JustGiving page which smashed its target to raise £1,706.

Kirsty wrote: ‘The boat recently became his primary residence and being a relatively new endeavour was not yet insured. His whole life was on this boat.’

A further donation of £240 from the community support group, Victory Hants, along with ‘several other smaller donations’ has allowed Matthew to ‘continue to live his dream’ after purchasing a new boat.

He said: ‘The money has been enough to get me a new boat to live on as well as paying for the costs of disposing of the old one. She is currently getting kitted out and insulated and should be habitable soon and hopefully ready to sail by the spring.

‘I can’t believe what people have done to raise this money – the response has been amazing.’

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After hearing about Matthew’s plight well-wishers also sent donations of food, clothing and even a laptop ‘to use for work’.

Matthew decided to move out out of the city to live on a boat due to an ongoing lung condition and the ‘cleaner air’ by the sea.

He added: ‘I’ve been overwhelmed by people’s response. Thanks to people’s generosity the dream is not dead.’

However, after the fate which befell his previous home Matthew has not yet named his new vessel.

He commented: ‘It’s supposed to be bad luck to name a boat before she’s complete and so after what has happened I’m going to observe this superstition until she is finished.’

A message from the Editor, Mark Waldron

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