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A new book I received from my brother Saturday. Looks like it just
came out in the last month or so.

Fair Wind & Plenty of it : A Modern-Day Tall Ship Adventure
by Rigel Crockett

A very quick read, as I probably only spent 5 hours or so on its 400
pages. It is the nonfiction tale of a old North Sea Trawler converted
to a tall masted ship. The author starts as a journey-man apprentice,
and finds himself in many different positions as rigger, able-bodied
seaman, carpenter, etc. They began there journey in ‘99 I believe.
Half professional crew, the other half paying amateur crew. A good
deal of the book describes the constant struggle between the two
groups. Near mutinies and the such.
All in all a good book. Don’t expect any gut wrenching sailing around
the Cape or anything. There are some good descriptions of sailing in
harsh conditions, but nothing that makes your heart skip a beat.
If you are looking for just a good nautical story of camaraderie and
such, this is great read.

A quick passage near the end:
“… half my clothing had rotted in a bucket of sea water when I left
my dirty laundry to soak in the Galapagos and then neglected it for
days. I’d lost my glasses in Cape Town and accidentally burned my
passport in Zanzibar. My wallet had been stolen in Bali and I’d lost my
boots in Panama. My sandals gave up the ghost in Africa, and Tom had
given me an extra pair of shoes that I’d cut the heels out of so they
wouldn’t give me blisters…”