Book review by Brian Lowen read out live on bookshow Thurs 3rd April
An hilarious tale
of three sailing adventures by the author.
He starts off as a
lonely and bored shepherd who receives an offer that he cannot refuse – to act
as Skipper for the summer months for an old lady who owns a Cornish Crabber
moored in the Greek islands. There is only one problem – he has no idea how to
sail a boat!
He undertakes a
crash course on sailing with his friend in Littlehampton harbour and then sets
off for Greece
with all expenses being paid by his elderly employer, Jane Joyce, thinking that
he knows it all and is now a competent sailor.
He has just a few
weeks to get the boat ready before Jane and her party arrive for the summer
season. He eventually locates the mysterious Captain Bob whom Jane has employed
to get the boat repaired and ready for sea. He is appalled to find the boat in
a terrible state and lacking its engine. He sacks Captain Bob and employs a
scruffy bunch of locals who agree to help him fix up the boat and find him a new
engine. They manage to get it finished before Jane arrives, and after some more
sailing lessons he sets off with a friend to sail over to the island where Jane
is staying.
He has a glorious
summer taking Jane and her friends around the Greek islands before returning
home to his sheep, but now a competent sailor.
He receives
another offer from another friend, Tom Cunliffe, to join his crew who are
planning to set sail in his vintage Bristol Channel Pilot Cutter that he and
his wife have been restoring. The crew totals six, plus Tom’s young
daughter. The plan is to sail across the
North Sea to Norway and then
over to Iceland and on to Newfoundland before reaching their destination in the USA. He is
warned that although it is summer it will be very cold, and so he sets off on
another adventure.
I cannot imagine why anyone would want to
undertake such a journey which could not be a greater contrast to his idyllic
time in the Med. But complete it he does, encountering some horrendous seas on
the way.
A light hearted
read, especially attractive to a reader who enjoys sailing, although a lot of
the sailing terms are explained during the story.
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