It’s called “The Octopus” because, you have to admit, it does look like one. Also, like an octopus, it is very clever. For the cost of a single elastic band, it solves one of the oldest problems on a boat: What to do with all the bits of string. Boats accumulate bits of string – … Read more
When you install Lithium batteries, you assume all your troubles are over. Do not be alarmed, this is perfectly normal. But your troubles are not over. I realised this in Panamarina, the little French marina in Panama about three months after switching to 600ah of pretty blue Victron cells in Aruba. One day, the sun … Read more
I always thought the daftest thing on any boat was the three-piece washboard. I suppose it’s easy to stow. But have you tried putting in the pieces when there’s a socking great wave advancing like an express train and about to fill the cockpit up to your waist? Maybe the designer who first thought it … Read more
6th May 2026 Ben left yesterday. Ben is my grandson. He came for two weeks, and we did a circuit from Antigua to Montserrat, to Nevis, across to Barbuda and back to Antigua. He said we certainly had some adventures. They started in Montserrat with picking up 20metres of fishing net. I wrote about that. … Read more
3rd April 2026 “In the last 24 hours,” said the ship’s doctor, “you have fainted, fallen over and started another fire on the boat.” Then he added: “This cannot go on.” I started doing my” ‘Bu…bu…bu…” routine, which means that I have an objection, a justification or, at the very least, some sort of protestation … Read more
Harry Potter’s wand chose Harry Potter. Everyone knows this. So, is it beyond the reach of imagination to suppose that the boat chooses the skipper? Because to some of us, boats are not like cars or washing machines. Boats are not things. If you don’t believe that a boat enters enter into a partnership with … Read more
