If it ain’t broke… Sailboats require maintenance. Maintenance is something sailboats are not designed for. Perhaps because their designers never intended them to live as long as they do. Perhaps because aesthetics sell boats. Perhaps because the boat maintenance cartel …
Position: 41°12’57.9″N 13°34’23.5″E One of the joys of wintering on your boat in northern climes is condensation. (Not to be confused with that singular joy of having siblings: condescension. – ed.) Warm air rises and when it meets a colder …
Position: 36°07’45″N 115°09’0″W Having entered the post-truth epoch four years ago, the nautically inclined are now entering the era of post-captaining. Boat owners and their boats can look forward to a time when the experience and nous of a skilled …
Position: 41°12’57″N 13°34’23″E The Plan What better way to ring in the beginning of a new year than with friends, good food, and plenty of prosecco? There is none. We heralded 2021 with Robin and Bob (our in-bubble dock mates) …
“If you can’t say anything nice, don’t say anything at all.” – my Mum Back when I worked for a living, I used to reassure my clients that as bad as things seem, not everything is broken. With that in …
Position: 41°12’57″N 13°34’23″E Among its many charms as a port city, Gaeta really pushes out the boat when it comes to Christmas decorations. Not satisfied with hanging stars and wreaths in ever-shifting combinations of red, green and blue, at some …
Position: 41°12’57″N 13°34’23″E Kodachrome In a world rife with misinformation, it is easy to forget all the crap you learned in grade school. Take for instance John Cabot. The famous English explorer. Bankrolled by Henry VII he is credited with …
Yeah, I’m the taxman Pity the errant British circumnavigator. When they buy their boat they have the pleasure of paying Value Added Tax to Her Majesty’s treasury. A princely 20% of its purchase price. Having parted with significant wads of …
Position: 41°15’45″N 13°44’46″E Cat Sitting For the past couple of weeks we have been cat sitting in Minturno. All three of us. Marlon, ever the charmer, has learned to live with cats. More or less. In his youth, he paid …
