Humor

Charlie’s friend Freddy had a near-death experience the other week. He was jumping from his boat to the dock when he missed his footing and fell into the water. He tried to grab the lifeline but missed, hit his head on the toe rail and splash! He was unconscious for about five minutes. He was…

We’ve heard a lot about various groups of mariners not quite fitting into the mold of expectation. ‘Women at the Helm’ is now an interesting monthly column. There are those who sail in ever smaller craft. Rowing across the Atlantic to beat records is becoming popular and high latitude challenges in racing machines are nearly…

Randy O’Leary was a likely lad of Irish descent and a single-handed sailor. Slim of waist and broad of chest, with a sing-song lilt to his voice and a shock of blonde hair, he had little trouble attracting the opposite sex. On the occasion of our story Randy found himself standing at the bar of…

  Charlie’s occupation as a charter yacht skipper/instructor takes him around the islands several times a month and as such he has to deal with all types of personalities. There are delightful ones, difficult ones, those easy to please, others not so much and some who find fault with everything. Thankfully the latter group are…

With much of the Northern Leewards still suffering from the devastating effects of the horrendous storms of August and September 2017 the events bring to mind the pirate days of yore. How villainous pirates plundered unarmed seafarers and helpless civilians; how religious Quakers started efforts to emancipate subjugated slaves and how murderous and greedy Spanish…

A slightly deaf ear, a breaking wave at just the wrong moment or perhaps an interruption by a shipmate can cause confusion in a word, phrase or sentence to create an unintentional change in meaning. The other day I was describing one of my publications to a shipmate … “And another of my publications, a cartoon…

What a year it’s been. 2017 is now having its last gasp and all of us who survived the devastating storms, floods and related deprivations will be glad it’s gone. We didn’t have any crippling wild fires, volcanic eruptions or earthquakes so perhaps we were luckier than some. In the BVI only four souls lost…

Chartering is a huge revenue earner for the Caribbean. This tourism sector is the single most important for many island nations and it involves several facets – bareboat chartering, sail training and crewed yacht charters. The latter involves fully catered sailing trips with quality cuisine, full service cabin cleaning and make up, watersports and dinghy…

Climate Change has been in the news lately. There is no doubt that climate change and global warming are fact. But there seems to be some confusion as to whether it’s man-made or a natural Phenomenon – or, more likely, a bit of both. Another irrefutable fact is that sea levels are rising. This is…

It certainly is a changing world. Charlie remembers, as if it were yesterday, his first water toy. It was a rubber duck in the bathtub, used as an enticement to get him into the hated weekly washing regimen in England’s often wet and chilly weather. Later a row boat was added with Popeye and Olive…

Since the results of the US election of the new president there has been a surge in inquiries for liveaboard cruising yachts.