SOLVED Autobiography about UK family that moves to an island [s]

[Paperadventures]

I can remember bits and pieces of this book. The main character is a boy, probably teenage. He has an older brother (possibly two) and a sister that's obsessed with her acne (at one point she kisses the feet of a religious object and gets sick from it).

He has a small boat, possibly yellow, that has a funny name. I can't remember it all, but I think it starts with a 'b' and ends with 'bum'.

The main character has lessons from a man at the man's house, and the man always says he needs to go see him mum. The man is in his fifties or something, so the main character starts to think the man says 'mum' instead of 'bathroom', because he's embarrassed to say he needs to go to the bathroom. One day the main character asks to see the man's mum, thinking he's going to go to the bathroom, but the teacher actually does have a mum who's still alive. She's very old.

One of the main character's older brothers says something along the lines of 'there are benefits to being both genders (referring to a sea creature that is both genders), you'd have an excuse not to go to parties. Sorry, I've got to stay home and hatch my eggs.'

There's a swimsuit incident, something involving an animal (possibly a donkey), and something with a tree.

When they go back to England, they get a ticket/something from an employee that labels them as 'small traveling circus'.

Either in the same book or in a sequel, they decide to go back to the island because they're so miserable with all the rain in London.

[Laura]

Could it be non-fiction - I'm thinking of Gerald Durrell's series of books, starting with My Family and Other Animals

[Paperadventures]

That's the book! Thank you!

[Sue]

The boat is the Bootlebumtrinket.