So, on the day we were finally ready to cast off for the South Island, just minutes before we were due to motor out to the diesel dock, this happened. I am absolutely disgusted with myself. I make it all the way around the South Pacific with only a few bruises, and I manage to sprain my ankle filling up…
One of the things I have learned from sailing is that you can’t do it to a deadline. Yet every time we try to get ready for a trip, I find myself getting pissed off at that very fact. Back when I was blissfully ignorant of the ways of sailing, I assumed that if you had a boat, and you wanted…
Paddy is in Australia. He flew out on the red-eye and had to get up at 4am to check in at the airport. I took pity on him and offered to pop by the boat this afternoon and do the pile of dishes I knew was sitting there. I turn on the tap ‘splutter, splurt, splat’ – no water. No problem, time to…
For those of you who haven’t been following my excited Twitter and Facebook squawking – the author’s copy of Which Way is Starboard Again? has finally arrived. It’s gorgeous! It has chapters and pictures and pages and an ISBN number and, and, it’s an actual book! I can’t stop staring at it and I am carting about in my…
I know they say you shouldn’t judge a book by its cover – but look at this cover!!!! It took an awful lot of to-ing and fro-ing but we are finally there. The cartoon on the front was drawn by the very talented Joshua Drummond – famed for his Horrible Picture of Michael Laws and Relaxed Painting of John Key (a version…
Ladies and gentlemen I present to you a rare and elusive book update…. (Best said in a dramatic whisper – extra points if you can do a David Attenborough impression). My house looks like a bomb has hit it, I’ve been living off microwave meals and my garden is full of weeds, but Which Way is Starboard Again? the book…
Ollie – aka the handsomest cat in the world – (he made me write that) is a bit of a literary snob. He has told me I am not to review any books on this blog without running them past him first. Luckily two books arrived last week – Bailey Boat Cat – adventures of a feline afloat and Olly…
With everything else going on I completely forgot to post these photos of the visitor we had last week! One cold morning this week I was walking down our frosted pier, thinking Arctic thoughts when a flapping movement caught my eye. While a polar bear wouldn’t have been out-of-place in those sort of temperatures, it was a slightly smaller mammal…
I’ve written, rewritten and deleted this blog more times than I can actually remember. The timing has always seemed wrong. Every time the issue of depression or anxiety has become a topic of discussion it has been around real and tragic events. Talking about myself has just seemed tacky, like dining out on someone else’s pain. In hindsight that may…
I’ve just finished reading An Astronaut’s Guide to Life on Earth – Colonel Chris Hadfield’s autobiography. For those of you who don’t know Hadfield became a bit of a social media rock star after posting a series of amazing YouTube videos from the International Space Station – everything from scientific experiments and stunning space vistas to how to brush your…