Review: sailing books

I've recently read two sailing books: Fastnet, Force 10 and Love with a Chance of Drowning.

Both made extremely clear the ruthlessness of the ocean.

The Fastnet race in 1979 killed 18 people, as a result of a "perfect storm" hitting the Atlantic Ocean off the coast of the UK and Ireland while the race from Cowes to Fastnet Rock was happening. The writing style reminded me a bit of Jon Krakauer's Into Thin Air, and was utterly terrifying. The combination of relatively small ships, far out to sea, and a confused sea with spectacular waves resulted in massive boat damage and loss of life. The storm happened before I was born, but John remembers being in a harbour in France on a sailing trip with his parents, and watching boats break loose in the harbour as the waves crashed over the harbour walls.

Anyway, give it a read, preferably NOT before setting out on a sailing trip.

If you DO want a book that will make you want to go to sea, I really liked Love with a Chance of Drowning, a memoir about following a boy and a boat and sailing across the Pacific ocean.

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August food

We had the boy for 2 weeks. We ate a TON of fruit (the strawberries this year have been amazing and just keep coming)!

John made cinnamon-raisin bread, which was demolished in short order:

With butter.

And James and I went to Cambridge (John was sailing, and my iPhone needed a Genius), and had some dumplings at Zonghua Traditional Snacks. Yumsters.

{this moment}

{this moment}

A Friday ritual. A single photo - no words - capturing a moment from the week. A simple, special, extraordinary moment. A moment I want to pause, savor and remember. Inspired by SouleMama.

The Boy making Ultimate Chocolate Cake for granddad's birthday.

New England Summer

I spent 6 excellent summers at camp in Vermont, which meant that I thoroughly enjoyed the recent rerun of This American Life's Notes on Camp. 

All campers, past and present, should go have a listen. I thought I'd heard it before but I think I only caught the first few minutes last time. Our days at Lochearn were slightly more structured than most camps, as far as I know, but they really went for it with the Traditions and "Colour War" (although ours was only ever referred to as Blue-Green, "Colour War" being a much too aggressive term). True Blue for life, in case you're interested. I still get goosebumps thinking about standing in a circle with all the other Blue team members, calling Good Luck to the Green team at the end of an event.

I also just finished the third Penderwick book, The Penderwicks at Point Mouette - I love these so much and would have been completely obsessed with them had I discovered them when I was 10 or 11. The three youngest Penderwicks (and their friend Jeffrey) go on vacation to Maine, and have all sorts of merry adventures. LOVE.

We even had an excellent morning of thunderstorms this morning - it made me think of sitting on the porch with my parents, watching storms roll through.