An antidote to all that’s written about expensive shiny new yachts, self-improvement, the quest for qualifications and practical skills

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Wednesday, May 23, 2018
The Impractical Boat Owner
£13.50

by Dave Selby
An antidote to all that’s written about expensive shiny new yachts, self-improvement, the quest for qualifications and practical skills

by Dave Selby

The author has been a columnist in national papers and has written seven books on motoring and writes a monthly sailing column in Practical Boat Owner. This is a collection of Dave’s columns from that magazine and as any fan of the author would probably guess, a book by him will not make you a better sailor or provide any instruction on boat maintenance. But it will entertain! His light but observational writings tap the rich well of all those things that sailors know, but few dare admit. There are no ingenious top tips here, just a collection of anecdotes that will hit a nerve with sailors everywhere. Themes included are; first attempts at sailing - how not to sail single-handed - mysteries of maintenance - how not to sail with a dog - the impenetrable mysteries of navigation and weather - how not to race. The Impractical Boat Owner is an antidote to all that’s written about expensive shiny new yachts, self-improvement, the quest for qualifications and practical skills.

Maritime Log

  • “Third Party Assistance” in Land Attack on Saudi Tanker +

    Abqaiq The Saudi Arabia flag tanker Abqaiq, 302,977dwt, was hit by a shore-launched anti-ship rocket fired by Yemen’s Houthi militia in… Read More

  • Record Flies as Second Jack-Up Barge Arrives +

    Albatross What is believed to be the largest ship to visit the harbour in the history of Blyth, in Northumberland, arrived… Read More

  • Bibby's Triple Success With Major Contracts +

    Bibby Polaris Three separate multi-million dollar contracts with a major oil and gas company have been won by the Aberdeen-based subsea services… Read More

  • New Crane Gives a Lift to Cargo Handling +

    Liebherr Materials Handler Ayr has become the first port in the UK to take delivery of the new model of the Liebherr Materials… Read More

  • Five Die in Fire on Container Ship +

    Maersk Honam Five crew members were lost when the Singapore-flag container ship Maersk Honam, 151,400gt, caught fire in the Arabian Sea at… Read More
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North America

  • Giant Cranes Pass Through Puget Sound +

    Zhen Hua 28 A large heavy lift ship carrying four of the largest container cranes for the US West Coast sailed through Puget… Read More

  • First Part of Ships’ LNG Conversion Completed +

    North Star The first of four conversion periods that will see the two Orca class rollon, roll-off vessels of Tote Maritime Alaska… Read More

  • Four New Landing Stages for New York Ferry +

    NYC Ferry Construction of the new NYC Ferries landing stages on New York’s Lower East Side began at the end of February. Read More

  • Icebreaker Delivers Two Supply Ships to US Antarctic Base +

    Polar Star The US Coast Guard’s only operational heavy icebreaker, the Polar Star, arrived at McMurdo Station, Antarctica, after completing her mission… Read More

  • US Navy Plots its Course +

    images/content/news/201804/Ronald Regaan Theodore Roosevelt and Nimitz In February, the US Department of the Navy submitted its long-range ship acquisition plan to Congress as part of the… Read More
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Asia-Pacific

  • No Mistaking New Line’s Ships +

    ONE Livery The one ship that can’t be missed is the first for a new container line formed by three Japanese owners. Read More

  • Fatal Collision Blamed on Sudden Turn +

    USS John S McCain The collision between the US Navy destroyer John S McCain and the Greek owned oil/chemical tanker Alnic MC, 50,760dwt, in… Read More

  • Nine New Cranes for Four Terminals +

    Zhen Hua 21 The first four of nine giant cranes for the DP World Australia container terminals at Brisbane, Sydney, Melbourne and Fremantle… Read More

  • Six Lifting Decks on New Car Carriers +

    Beluga Ace The first of the new Flexie series of car carriers building for the Japanese shipping company Mitsui OSK Lines, Ltd… Read More

  • Eight More for Evergreen +

    Evergreen| The Evergreen Marine Corp of Taiwan, has ordered eight 11,000 teu container ships from the South Korean shipbuilder Samsung Heavy… Read More
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Naval Focus

  • Busy Period for Japanese Navy +

    JS Asahi Japanese News It has been a particularly busy period for the Japanese with a number of new vessels being accepted… Read More

  • Historic Port Visit to Vietnam +

    USS Carl Vinson US News In a significant move in March, the nuclear powered aircraft carrier USS Carl Vinson made an historic port… Read More

  • Russian Minesweeper Fleet Expands +

    Alexander Obukhov Russian News By 2027 the Russian Federation Navy is expected to have acquired a total of ten Alexandrit class minesweepers… Read More

  • New Patrol ship for Danes +

    HDMS Lauge Koch Danish News On 11 December, in a ceremony held at Naval Station Korsør, the Royal Danish Navy commissioned the third… Read More

  • Royal Navy ‘Cannibalising’ Ships for Parts +

    HMS Artful UK News Once again, the Royal Navy was in the headlines for all the wrong reasons in the closing months… Read More
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Ferry World

  • "Rogaland" Performs for Dunkirk +

    Rogaland I am not normally drawn to such films as the latest Dunkirk release, but on my recent viewing it proved… Read More

  • Weather Casualties +

    Hebridean Isles The issue of ferry operation, subsequent to the UK leaving the EU, will rather, regretfully, but unavoidably, continue to feature… Read More

  • Superfast Stena +

    Superfast VII Superfast VIII The issue of ferry operation, subsequent to the UK leaving the EU, will rather, regretfully, but unavoidably, continue to feature… Read More

  • Sanctions Eased for Mangyongbong 92 +

    Mangyongbong 92 Ever since the 1950s when I was aware of the Soviet merchant marine’s Baltic SS Co vessels which linked Leningrad… Read More

  • Estonian Arrow +

    Arrow Viv Llewellyn’s image of the IOM Steam Packet’s chartered Arrow at Poole indicates how advantageous her long term charter to… Read More
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Sail Review/Coastal Comment

  • The Benefits of Wheel Spokes +

    Will Everard The Anna (see the print edition for details), like all Dutch craft, has a band around the outside of her… Read More

  • Double Dutch Ketches +

    Gallant The Dutch 27.7m steel ketch Gallant, was built as a ‘logger’ in 1916 for the North Sea herring fishery. Read More

  • Focus on Freshspring +

    Freshspring Severn Sea The Scandinavian connection this month, continues with the welcome reappearance of the magnificently versatile Severn Sea 147gt of Bideford seen… Read More

  • Fame for Sandgrevstur +

    Vestborg and Sandfrakt I followed up the casualty Fame which featured in my last Coastal Commentary. Read More

  • Hollow Shore Sails +

    Alberta The Hollow Shore yard had been bought by the Testers who totally rebuilt several smacks including Primrose, Lily May, Ethel… Read More
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From the Lookout

  • "Future of the Fjords" +

    Future of The Fjords Norway is a country which takes its environmental responsibilities very seriously and is at the vanguard of changes to reduce… Read More

  • Wight Shipyard Co Wins Second Export Order +

    Ultramar In 2017, I had the pleasure of visiting Wight Shipyard Co’s famous Columbine Yard in East Cowes (Isle of Wight)… Read More

  • Red Funnel Congratulates New Female Captain +

    Alice Duncan Red Funnel, the Isle of Wight’s awardwinning ferry operator, welcomes the promotion of Alice Duncan to the position of captain.… Read More

  • Historic Name in Shipping Lives On +

    MV Coho Way back in 1818, the founders of the Black Ball Line inaugurated the first scheduled freight and passenger service across… Read More

  • 2018 Spring Quilliam Lecture +

    Qilliam Lecture Poster "Quilliam Today" is is this year's title for the Spring Quilliam Lecture on Thursday 5th April in Arbory Church. Read More
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Cruise News/Superyacht News

  • "QE2" Comes to Life Again +

    QE2 in Dubai There will be many readers who, for the last decade, have followed the fortunes of the Queen Elizabeth 2. Read More

  • Supersub "Migaloo" +

    Migaloo The future of superyachts and how they may develop over imminent years, keeps superyacht commentators, like me, amused for hours. Read More

  • Superyacht Solution to Housing Shortage +

    Bluebird Diana Yacht Design is doing its bit to help solve the housing shortage. Read More

  • The Bridge +

    Queen Mary 2 QM2 vs the Super Yachts race results between the St Nazaire Bridge and the Verrazano Bridge in New York Read More

  • Just A Storyline? +

    Marco Polo Notwithstanding a number of attempts to emulate “The World” by other operators, any past thoughts of competing with the only… Read More
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Ships, Ports and Places

National Maritime Museum of Ireland Interior

Taikoo Dockyard & Engineering Co

On 1 January 1867, John Swire & Sons, having been established as merchants in Liverpool since 1816, opened the first… Read More
HMS Hood

The "Hood", My Father - The Ship and Battle - The Bell

In writing about HMS Hood and her service career, I am not going to attempt to cover it fully, as… Read More
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Companies, Events and Other Features

HMT Swansea Castle

The Role of British Fishermen in World War I

In WWI, Germany’s policy of wholesale mining of the North Sea and Atlantic was implemented from the day War was… Read More
Prince Robert

Three Canadian Princes

Few especially built ships for a trade have become the orphans of economic circumstances faster than a trio built for… Read More
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