Blog
Restoring A Trailer Sailer
Now for the Exterior! Mokum Makeover Part 4
The cabin interior done, bar the new boards for the electrics, it was time to start on the exterior. Firstly, the cabin top and decks. After stripping the cabin roof and deck of all fittings (stanchions, lifelines, grab rails etc) the sanding started. One of the...
Mokum Makeover – Part 3
There was a lot of pleasure in taking off the various components of the boat, knowing that some would be cleaned up then replaced and some replaced with new items. Some we ummed and ahhd about. Others we knew would not be going back on the boat. The speedo, for...
Mokum makeover Part 2
We continued our search. Generally, I was of the opinion that it would be better to pay more for something that was ready to sail, rather than pay less and have something requiring lots of work. But Jenni didn’t like the look of any of the boats we saw, many of which...
Mokum Makeover – Restoring a Trailer Sailer
When we first decided to purchase a trailer-sailer, we looked at a whole range of boats, none of which seemed to quite match our list of requirements, though a few came close. But what was clear, was that an inspection was definitely necessary, no matter what the...
Book Reviews
Book Review – The Wager, by David Grann
I recently discovered a book about shipwreck, murder, mutiny and survival - and it's not a work of fiction! Titled THE WAGER, a tale of SHIPWRECK, MUTINY and MURDER, this is a gripping read, penned by David Grann, bestselling author of the novel and recently aired tv...
Treasure Island – Digging up an old favourite…
While the weather hasn’t been that great for sailing, I thought I’d settle in and re-visit an old favourite (a very old favourite), Robert Louis Stevenson’s Treasure Island. I discovered this edition in ALDI, late last year. A new cover design, but the same great...
Book Review – A VOYAGE FOR MADMEN, by Peter Nichols
As we sit and watch the Sydney to Hobart fleet battle another difficult journey of over 600 nautical miles, I’ve been reading about another yacht race - the first Golden Globe. A non-stop, single-handed race around the world. A VOYAGE FOR MADMEN, by Peter Nichols. I...
Book Review – THE UNLIKELY VOYAGE of Jack de Crow
THE UNLIKELY VOYAGE of Jack de CrowA.J. MackinnonBlack Inc books, 2014 This has to be one of my favourite sailing books. I think it’s the combination of the amazing achievement and the beautiful, lyrical prose with which the tale is described. Anyone who has ever...
Book Review – Erebus
Erebus, The Story Of A Ship Michael Palin2018, Arrow Books Erebus is not a well-known name or ship, despite achieving amazing feats in exploration. In the early 1840s Erebus was dispatched to discover the south Magnetic Pole and travelled further south than any ship...
Book Review – My Old Man and The Sea
My Old Man and The Sea, David and Daniel Hays.Anchor Books, 1996 Not to be confused with The Old Man and The Sea, the classic by Hemingway, this story is a moving recount of a father and son’s journey as they sail around Cape Horn. David Hays, a theatre director from...
Caribbean Capers
Welcome to the Caribbean, mon!
Chapter 2. Welcome to the Caribbean, mon! It was my first stop in the Caribbean, and I was instantly blown away, not literally but the trade winds were noticeable from the start. As was a bright blue sky, the navy-blue water, swaying palm trees and the enveloping...
Caribbean Capers
“Do you have quarter of a million dollars?” I was asked by Tom, our Camp Director. I checked my pockets. No. “Because that’s how much these boats are worth, so don’t wreck ‘em.” he added.
We had arrived in Road Town, the main (and only) town on Tortola, the principal island of the BVI.
