This is nice: Yachting Monthly has reviewed Old Man Sailing and called it a “word-of-mouth bestseller”. And there’s some evidence for that: the daily sales from Amazon tend to be higher than they were a couple of months ago – with a higher proportion coming from overseas. Now a Dutch sailing magazine has asked for … Read more
Everybody’s waiting. That’s what you do in the Canary Islands at this time of year. The boats have to get across the Bay of Biscay by the middle of September to avoid the equinoctial gales – but they mustn’t reach the Caribbean until the end of the hurricane season, and that means not setting … Read more
Like most of the world’s great discoveries, the perfect solution to the antifouling problem turned up when I was looking for something else. I could tell you what it is right now – in a few words, as it happens. But that would be a waste of a good story – and it is a … Read more
Every year up until now, October has been the turning point. Time to start making my way home for Christmas – three months holed up in the Walton Backwaters with the seals and the geese, slowly poisoning myself with carbon monoxide as the charcoal heater leaked more and more smoke into the cabin. Out would … Read more
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
