Speaking of waterside loafers, land sharks and small cruising yachts

Cooke

Writing shortly after the Great War, F B Cooke has every bit of the bluff, blokey do-exactly-as-I-say-and-everything-will-be-all-right style that was popular in his era, but today seems bossy and a little odd.

For Cooke the popular yachting harbours may have been full of good chaps but they were also home to waterside loafers and land sharks who would find a dozen ways to rob the poor innocent yachtsman. Rather like a sheriff in a Wild-West movie, Cooke could distinguish between them in a moment, knew exactly how to handle both types and briskly tells us how to [ad name=”intheboatshed-post”] Continue reading “Speaking of waterside loafers, land sharks and small cruising yachts”

Three glimpses of Vita Sackville-West’s Sissinghurst boat shed

Vita Sackville-West’s Sissinghurst boat shed

Vita Sackville-West’s Sissinghurst boat shed Vita Sackville-West’s Sissinghurst boat shed

The boat shed at Sissinghurst Castle

Today’s boat shed must be a contender for the best location imaginable – for it occupies pride of place in Vita Sackville-West’s legendary garden at Sissinghurst Castle, just down the road from where we live in Kent.

You can read more about the garden and the castle itself at the National Trust’s website.

Want to comment or add something? Email intheboatshed.net: gmatkin@gmail.com

Regular readers will know that we’re rather keen on boat sheds in general. If you’re new round here, though, you might like to take a look at these: Continue reading “Three glimpses of Vita Sackville-West’s Sissinghurst boat shed”

Jim’s canoe gets new sails

Jim’s canoe gets new sails

Jim’s canoe gets new sails Jim’s canoe gets new sails Jim’s canoe gets new sails

Jim’s canoe gets new sails Jim’s canoe gets new sails
Zanzibar sailing with her new sails on Saturday afternoon

My pal Jim Van Den Bos and I spent Saturday afternoon near our homes at Bewl Water in Kent, England, trying out some new sails kindly sewn up by Jim’s mum for his canoe Zanzibar.

The little boat attracted a lot of attention from fellow small-boat sailors who kept Jim busy for quite a time while I swooped across the water.

We were both pleased with Continue reading “Jim’s canoe gets new sails”