ChatterBank2 mins ago
MM Links December 2012 Week 1
45 Answers
This is 'Sir Robin of Linksley' , so I’m told!
Back in 2010, when I last had the honour (?) of setting the links, my introductions were so long that they elicited some sarcastic comments - such as “When will the book be published?”
So this time I’ll try to keep it short. Well, shorter, anyway.
Brought up among boats and having taken early retirement, I launched myself into yacht delivery as a way of having fun afloat at little or no cost. The next ten years saw many happy adventures across Europe from the Thames to the eastern Mediterranean.
The first of these commissions turned out to be one of the most exciting, and could easily have been the last. I recruited two friends to help me sail a thirty foot yacht from Naples to Bodrum, in Turkey. All went well until we rounded the toe of Italy and started on the long haul across to Greece.
In the middle of the night we were crossing “The Gulf of Squalls” in the best part of a gale when a particularly vicious squall laid the boat on its side, a total knockdown. She righted herself, of course, but the chaos down below was indescribable. All our gear which had been so carefully stowed away had escaped, together with our precious store of wine and spirits. A heavy iron casserole had left the oven and spewed its contents all over our charts and pilot books.
Only when daylight came did we realise how lucky we were. Our clothes and bedding were afloat in ankle deep salt water spiced up with battery acid. And we were hardly in the best state to start clearing all this up in an atmosphere comprising mostly whisky, garlic and chlorine gas.
Two days later we were happily tied up to the pier at Argostoli with all our gear spread out on deck in the brilliant sunshine. We'd lived to fight again!
Back in 2010, when I last had the honour (?) of setting the links, my introductions were so long that they elicited some sarcastic comments - such as “When will the book be published?”
So this time I’ll try to keep it short. Well, shorter, anyway.
Brought up among boats and having taken early retirement, I launched myself into yacht delivery as a way of having fun afloat at little or no cost. The next ten years saw many happy adventures across Europe from the Thames to the eastern Mediterranean.
The first of these commissions turned out to be one of the most exciting, and could easily have been the last. I recruited two friends to help me sail a thirty foot yacht from Naples to Bodrum, in Turkey. All went well until we rounded the toe of Italy and started on the long haul across to Greece.
In the middle of the night we were crossing “The Gulf of Squalls” in the best part of a gale when a particularly vicious squall laid the boat on its side, a total knockdown. She righted herself, of course, but the chaos down below was indescribable. All our gear which had been so carefully stowed away had escaped, together with our precious store of wine and spirits. A heavy iron casserole had left the oven and spewed its contents all over our charts and pilot books.
Only when daylight came did we realise how lucky we were. Our clothes and bedding were afloat in ankle deep salt water spiced up with battery acid. And we were hardly in the best state to start clearing all this up in an atmosphere comprising mostly whisky, garlic and chlorine gas.
Two days later we were happily tied up to the pier at Argostoli with all our gear spread out on deck in the brilliant sunshine. We'd lived to fight again!
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