John Passmore This is a story about the eighth wonder of the world – and , in the process, a lesson on how to get afloat on a budget. Years ago, when the children were small, we gave a home to two kittens – a black one and a ginger one. We called them Treacle and Custard … Read more
The one thing that really frightens me – more than the prospect of hitting the container; worse than having the Orcas take a bite out of my rudder, more pressing than being attacked by pirates – is lightning. You can avoid Gibraltar and the Red Sea – and as for finding that container some dark … Read more
The mini-break is a great idea: A three-day weekend: All the excitement and relaxation of a holiday without having to give up any holiday time. Bridget Jones lived for the mini-break. You can have a mini-voyage too. Anyone who wants the experience of an ocean crossing without upsetting the boss or disappointing the family has … Read more
I suspect it’s an age thing, this urge to complete abandoned projects – to leave nothing undone… I am back in Scotland and busy ticking things off the list as if I was in B&Q and about start on the bathroom. To begin with, there were the Shetland Islands. Of course, I had been here … Read more
OK, so this is what you do: You take two men, one very skinny, one very stout. You lay the skinny one down on the quayside and get the stout one to push him gradually over the edge. When half of the skinny one is sticking out over the harbour, he will fold at the … Read more
After mentioning that I need to get the anchor chain galvanised, I was deluged with gloomy warnings that nobody does it any more. Chain is so cheap nowadays that it’s considered as disposable as electric kettles. But I’m very attached to my chain. I expect it’s as old as the boat – so, 48 years … Read more
The BBC says a Walrus has turned up in Pembrokeshire – a UK first. Oh no, it isn’t: In about 1980 when I was at the Daily Mail, a Walrus washed up on the beach at Skegness. It was mid-summer – the silly season and as self-appointed silly correspondent, I claimed Wally the Walrus. First … Read more
While technology’s most significant gift to the sailor must be the GPS, there is something that, to my mind, is even more welcome – and that is the Kindle. I have just counted up and find I have 329 books on mine (the latest, Where The Crawdads Sing by Delia Owens – an absolute delight). … Read more
