Dolphins Under My Bed - Sandra Clayton

This book makes me say 'meh.' I enjoyed the concept--husband and wife sailing away in middle age--and most of the sailing-related narrative was well done, especially the waterspouts they were chased by and the vagaries of passage-making. However, speaking of vagaries, the pace of the book is bogged down with the regularly interspersed little vignettes in which this woman would complain about the annoyances she encountered in each new port of call. It was pretty obvious she missed the familiarities of home. It was also pretty obvious that she's one of those sorts of English people you don't want to meet. The sort who have a permanent facial expression seeming to ask the question, "Who farted?"

In the Year 2025

My participation in Homme de Talleur's latest group writing project.

In the year 2025 the most interesting thing about sailing will be Kris and I out there cruising for our tenth year. Interesting to whom, you ask? Well, to me of course.

And away we go...

Happy Birthday, Proper Course

I didn't start this, but I'm jumping onboard. Blame frogma.

There was an old man from Sakonnet
He moved there to sail in his bonnet
A Laser it was
Blogging he does
Now he's five years older, doggone-it!

Somebody needs to work on the Tillerman-TeaPartyBagging angle ...

Bonnie started it. I joined in. And now it's official, because everybody's favorite commenter, has composed an opus.

And another from Pandabonium (best name ever!). For those scoring at home, this IS a haiku, since it does mention something with regard to the season and offers a surprise (aha!) moment in each line.

And, finally (finally because it's last here and it took me forever to find it; which is a testament to my skills with my google), this resonant beauty from Zen.

The Princess and the Boatshow

I made it out to Excel in the Docklands for the London International Boat Show yesterday. It's a good-sized show and I was able to spend three hours solely on the sail side of the hall and still feel there was a bit more to see, were I to look closer and spend more time with some of the displays.

I looked at all of the boats, but only went aboard the Southerly 49 on display. I was impressed with the swing keel and was fortunate to have a naval architect as my tour guide. He was even more enthusiastic about opening everything up and looking at how it was put together and talking about how things worked. Loved the washing machine tucked in behind the owner's head.


One feature of the Southerly I really liked was the raised salon table and the narrow galley along the starboard bulkhead. I could see this working well underway.



I saw a large military presence at the show, including sailors and marines, and was told that Princess Anne [early readers who re-read may note that I've added an e to the Princesses Anne; later readers are left with this unnecessary note] was visiting. She's Chuck's sister.

To top it all off, I ended the day at the Duke's Head for supper and a drink with Captain JP.

I understand the Duke's Head is Adam's favorite. It's a good spot, but a longer walk from the train station than the Boathouse.

Excel-ling Tomorrow

Arrived in London yesterday, despite Air Canada's best efforts to delay us on the frozen tundra of Alberta for an indefinitely long and white weekend. We made the best of our day+ stay in Calgary and have had our first pints in jolly olde.

The boat show tomorrow! It's at a venue here in London called Excel, hence (I'm using pommy conjunctions whilst amongst the speaker's of the King's English) my pun.

Some shots from our walk around town last night, whilst (!) trying to keep ourselves up and awake to adapt to the time change.

I especially like this front view. There was a very light snow falling and I think it gave the sky the special purplish glow you can see here.


The iPhone occasionally takes an exceptionally great picture that surprises you. These shots of Westminster Abbey from side and front, plus that of the tower clocky thing, came out kinda arty.

State of the Union

It's Omphaloskepsis season, so let's all lift our shirts and begin gazing at our navels!

For the record, things are going as strong as ever in the Love and Coconuts household, with regards to our bringing our dream to life. We have been slogging along with domestic chores here in the off-season, working toward our financial goals that will put us in a bigger boat sometime in the next 6-18 months.

Don't worry about us too much, however, because our priorities are in order. We took two weeks to go thaw out on Maui in late November. We expect to limit our trips next year with the goal of spending more time on the water in the dinghy, as well as doing what we need to get into a keelboat.

We'll be traveling to London in early January, where Kris will do lots of work-type things, while Greg works on getting into the Excel boatshow and checking out the new season's offerings.

After that, the hope is that we get a couple of decent days, with some semi-warm weather and some early season sailing.

Our best to everyone in the new year!

Aloha!

Voyaging the Pacific - Miles Hordern

Just finished this one and found myself stringing it out, the last third. I was enjoying the location, maybe more than the writing. Although, I found it well written. Miles is a pom living in New Zealand and he embarks on a trip across the Southern Ocean, which is a large part of the book. He talks a lot about the expanse of ocean, the history of it, and more, while also doing a good job of putting you right in the cockpit and the cabin of his single-handed 28-footer.

He eventually runs into the South American continent and winds up helping on a mapping effort in the many islands, sounds, and waterways of the Chilean coast. He manages to evoke the place in a way that again puts you right there with him.

Eventually, Miles bears off to the North and then picks up the Trades and heads west. I found it quite interesting how many places he sailed right past; in the spirit of Moitessier, Mr. Hordern seemed happier to slip on past and keep to see.

My first experience of the Gambier Islands was through his writing here.

I found the bibliography to be a treasure trove of titles that I expect to tackle soon. There appear to be a couple editions of this out there, one of which has a variation on this title.