Cruising and Writing

[Dave Gibson]

I haven't posted here in, like, forever and now I'm going to spam it.

This message board is about sailing and cruising. But 15 or 20 years ago, I got a hand written letter from an old denizen who wrote that cruising isn't a boating thing. It's a state of mind. You can cruise on a sailboat, a powerboat or trawler, in a car, a motorhome, a motorcycle, or the end of your thumb. That hit home. He was right.

So after sailing for 40 years, I was living in a derelict old trawler of all things. In Stamford, Connecticut. In the winter. With two good sized dogs and a couple of cats (little did I know that Pamela was only starting to collect animals). This is actually pretty funny, I thought to myself. You just can't make this stuff up. I should write a magazine article about this (I'd been writing for Cruising World, Good Old Boat, Latitudes & Attitudes, and a few other mags I can't think of. But there was too much to tell. Boat projects, dealing with living aboard in Stamford CT in the winter, socializing with other liveaboards in the marina... too much. What to do? A blog! The blog was born. Google Trawler Drift Away and you'll find it.

Now, those of you who know me from the old days know that I have a quirky self-deprecating sense of humor. I make fun of myself all the time. Combine that with a ridiculous living situation and you have blog fodder.

I would update often, but then it became daily. If I didn't have the day's entry up by 9 AM, I'd get emails along the lines of "Dave... I'm at work. I have my coffee and donut. Where is the blog??"

Well, writing the Drift Away blog led to writing my Bleecker Mountain Life blog about building an off grid home in the Adirondack Mountains of upstate New York. An accident ended that. But it did not end writing. Five books in two years, and book six is almost done. I love it.

But what I think I love most about writing is knowing I gave a few hours of enjoyment to people I don't know. And... I get enjoyment by reliving our cruise as I read my blog to convert that story to book form.

My advice to you who are cruising is to write about it. Put it in a blog, or in a journal... anywhere where you can relive your adventures years down the road. My accident resulted in a severe concussion, and one side effect of that is memory loss. But there is that blog, ready to remind me of what I was doing five, six, and seven years ago.

No, none of us knows where life will take us. We're slicing through the waves on a broad reach... and then we gybe. Reset your sails, roll with it... and write.

 

[Will Gilmore]

Dave,
I really enjoyed reading this and your other thread about where life takes us. I will be sure to visit your blog. My wife and I are in the middle of a total life change, she left her high paying job of over 30 years and we are now working on becoming self-sufficient homesteading farmers (read here, we are 'dirt' rich but otherwise poor). I grew up sailing, but moved to the White Mountains from Florida when I started high school, where I met Linda, my wife, in the early 80s. I only just recently bought a mariner 19 and am interested in fixing her up for use as an extended weekend sailor to anywhere as far as Dry Tortugas (75 mile sail from Key West), for example.
Linda is an excellent writer and I think she secretly believes she has missed out by not pursuing that talent more. We have gardened and farmed a few raised beds for tomatoes, peppers, various other fruits and vegetables for years. Now, that we are turning our attention to this activity in earnest, we have chickens, ducks and turkeys, with honey bees on order for this Spring. We rely heavily on the postings of bloggers, the writers of books, and the members of forums such as backyardchickens, etc. Your suggestion to write about our experiences has really hit home.
I am trying to make a living, now, as an artist, as well, and we are soon to be posting our Website: earthshakingcreations.com. Blogging about what we are doing and how we have come to learn what we know is definitely going to be part of that.
I am looking forward to reading more about your experiences because I hope to have similar ones in the future. Thank you.

-Will (Dragonfly)

 

[Dave Gibson]

Will, you're in a perfect situation to blog about your experiences. Your post above could be post one, the introduction to your blog. Update it often, if not daily. Write about everything, the good and the bad, the high times and the low. Write about what worked and didn't work. Keep it real. Write in a conversational style as if you are talking directly to the reader, which seems to be your style anyway.

If the blog takes off, you could monetize (allow ads on it) to make a few bucks. I never did that. But that would be your call.

I used blogspot, which is pretty easy to use. Another popular host and format is Wordpress. Both are free to use.

Consider it. It gives you a creative outlet and satisfaction that you're helping others and entertaining them. To me, that was my reward.

 

[rgranger]

I dyslexed the title and read.. Cursing and Writing.

I was a bit disappointing until if actually read your article. Thanks for sharing.

 

[Al Schober]

Those of us who read will always appreciate those of you who write.
In our case, the wife would write and I would add the photos and turn them into web pages. Folks always seem to appreciate stuff that has photos along with the text. Our stuff is up at marenal.net
Dave writes gud - i like his stuff (and his photos).

 

[Dave Gibson]

HAHAHAHA! Hi Al. It's been a long time! Yeah, my old blog is still getting lots of hits, and my books are selling fairly well, especially my first book which is a nonfiction account of Pamela and I learned that we were living in the midst of Sasquatch. I kid you not.

I hope all is well with you, and I see you still have your Tartan. I'm boatless, but I'm getting the itch.

 

[Al Schober]

Dave,
The Tartan is for sale - has been since mid 2016. Maren has tendon disfunction in her feet and it's no longer safe for her to be on the boat. If she doesn't sell this Spring, I'll give her away to the CG Foundation. Her listing is on YachtWorld, but if you're interested, DO NOT contact the broker - I'll save you his commission. We're not selling her because we don't like her.

 

[Dave Gibson]

It sounds nice, but my sailing days are over. Getting whacked with a tree has resulted in me losing a lot of feeling in my feet and my right hand, and I have a lot of weakness in my right arm. If I buy another boat it will either be a dock queen liveaboard or a pontoon boat to take our four dogs out on the water. But I go on Yachtworld and look wistfully at sailboats. Gettin' old ain't for sissies, Al.

 

[thinwater]

I'm fascinated by how many parts there are to writing. Most of what I write, even about sailing, is technical. I can't tell a good story of adventure or misadventure, or rather not one centered on the people I meet, what I learn from them, or how I feel about the experience. It's just not how my mind works. But I'm glad others can and do.

Blogs are great, if only to share a few pictures and stories in away that allows more continuity than Facebook does.

 

[jssailem]

Learning to write feels a bit like learning to play music. It is a developable skill.
It is a skill I am working to learn.
Do you think you need to focus in one area (i.e fiction or technical)? Or Can one develop the skills by commenting in a forum like this?

 

[rgranger]

Learning to write feels a bit like learning to play music. It is a developable skill.
It is a skill I am working to learn.
Do you think you need to focus in one area (i.e fiction or technical)? Or Can one develop the skills by commenting in a forum like this?

THAT is why you have 4,122 post @jsailem?

I thought you were just real smart and had a lot of good ideas.

 

[Dave Gibson]

Writing is something that I was told I was incapable of by my 10th grade English teacher. He even failed a paper of mine because he said it was too good and that I must have copied it. So I went through life thinking I couldn't write. But I wrote a post on a sailing magazine's message board and the editor emailed me and asked to publish it. So began a part-time career of writing magazine articles, all nonfiction of course.

And then came my first blog. I needed an outlet to write, and Drift Away's blog was born. It was in this blog that I learned that if I had nothing to blog about, I could make something up and spin a yarn. Here is an example - http://trawlerdriftaway.blogspot.com/2013/04/pelicans-and-mathematics.html

My advice stands. Write. Find your voice and develop your own style. The more you write, the more effective you become. And even if you aren't well received, what's the worst that could happen? You'd have your writings as memories for when you're in the home for old sailors.

And maybe one day you'll graduate to writing books, as I did. No, you won't make a living at it most likely, but it is an extremely satisfying thing to know that you entertained a complete stranger for a few hours.

 

[Will Gilmore]

In my classes for my degree in Education the subject of developing good writing skills came up often. It was almost universally believed that writing developed better writing skills. I don't happen to be in that camp.

I think writing is very important, but without a good guide to writing, then students trying to learn better writing skills are at a disadvantage. Part of the problem with any initiative to improve a student's writing in a classroom setting is that not everyone is a good writer or knows how to recognise good writing. Teachers have not proven, as a whole, that they are any better equipped to judge good writing than any other professional population.

My personal feeling is that, like learning good art, a student needs examples of good writing to guide their growth. So, reading good writing, is the way I would suggest to improve your writing skills. Pick some classics that have proven themselves with the public and read. In between reading, write your story. Your writing will begin to take on some of the elements of the stories you read.

Ain't it funny the turns a thread can take on SBO?

- Will (Dragonfly)

 

[jssailem]

So Will if not teachers who do find to edit/critique your efforts.

 

[Will Gilmore]

So Will if not teachers who do find to edit/critique your efforts.

I'm not saying teachers shouldn't do it. Only that teachers, who believe the best way to improve the writing skills of their students is to have them write, are missing something. Society can't rely on every teacher having the writing skills to be the model that informs our student's instruction. Therefore, reading the classics should be a big part of their curriculum.

- Will (Dragonfly)

 

[TomY]

Learning to write feels a bit like learning to play music. It is a developable skill.
It is a skill I am working to learn.
Do you think you need to focus in one area (i.e fiction or technical)? Or Can one develop the skills by commenting in a forum like this?

The internet writing I do, is a recreational pastime and focuses on things I enjoy (like sailing and sailboats, here). Even in a technical piece, I try to tell a story. Fun but also challenging. These pieces are online-short, to be posted on device screens, on the internet.

The temptation is to 'barf on your keyboard', and hit Post Reply.

You have to be the editor on this media (or it shows). Add to that, a clock ticks in my head keeping track of how much time I'm spending, editing myself. This 'short' work becomes a writing puzzle and drill.

No surprise to me, I end up 'designing and building' these short pieces, in my head, because of the way I think and work. It's gratifying when you post a short piece you like. The shorter they are, the harder the work. Photos can tell a story.

 

[TomY]

Writing is something that I was told I was incapable of by my 10th grade English teacher. He even failed a paper of mine because he said it was too good and that I must have copied it. So I went through life thinking I couldn't write. But I wrote a post on a sailing magazine's message board and the editor emailed me and asked to publish it. So began a part-time career of writing magazine articles, all nonfiction of course.

And then came my first blog. I needed an outlet to write, and Drift Away's blog was born. It was in this blog that I learned that if I had nothing to blog about, I could make something up and spin a yarn. Here is an example - http://trawlerdriftaway.blogspot.com/2013/04/pelicans-and-mathematics.html

My advice stands. Write. Find your voice and develop your own style. The more you write, the more effective you become. And even if you aren't well received, what's the worst that could happen? You'd have your writings as memories for when you're in the home for old sailors.

And maybe one day you'll graduate to writing books, as I did. No, you won't make a living at it most likely, but it is an extremely satisfying thing to know that you entertained a complete stranger for a few hours.

Dave, I'm impressed that you have published the books. I don't think I have the patience or stamina to concoct an idea, build, and finish a book.

The internet has cut into my paper book time. Sailing is one place I look forward to spending time with a real book.

Last season, my reading time was spent off the rocky coast of Scotland, a place I've been lucky enough to spend just a wee bit of time. I love to get lost in a story.

A trilogy(that I finished over the long Maine winter), the writer Peter May built a soaring castle of characters and fascinating places in time, that spanned a century.

The trilogy is an amazing web of writing. The thought of the work this took the author, just wore me out. I love castles, but I build small houses,...

 

[Dave Gibson]

Hey Tom!
I actually find writing easy. Too easy. The laid-back self-deprecating style I use makes it as easy as talking to someone in person. Being half-Irish, I can be pretty verbose. I also learned that I can` spin a yarn if need be (two of my books are fiction, the white ones).

https://www.amazon.com/Dave-Gibson/e/B075Z7S69H/ref=dp_byline_cont_book_1

I can write an 80,000 word novel in three weeks. The problem for me is that it totally consumes my life. Not just writing it, but reading and editing it over and over, for months. So I've learned to pace myself.

I am 3/4s of the way through a sequel to "the Voyage of Drift Away" and then there will be one more, making a trilogy.

You're a good writer. Give it a try. Write about what you know, such as cruising in Maine, or maintaining a good old boat. Along with your wonderful photography, I think your books would do well.

Best,
Dave

 

[Will Gilmore]

The thought of the work this took the author, just wore me out. I love castles, but I build small houses,...

Tom, you may find the memory technique called, 'The Method of Loci' interesting to learn. It is also called the 'Memory Palace'. Basically, you hold a familiar place in your mind. It is committed to memory. Often, it is a place you have spent some time, such as your house or your boat or a walk along a street or park. It can, however, be a place completely made up, like a castle. Then, familiarizing yourself with the geography of your memory palace, you have a standard "walk-thru" such that the items you wish to remember are placed in order, in predefined locations or loci (in Latin).
After that, running thru the walk-thru in your head, those memories WILL be there for you to retrieve.
My son taught himself how to do it and he can now go thru a deck of cards and remember it's order in only a minute or two of study.
It is persistent too. It will stay there until new items are put in place of the old ones.
I haven't taken the time to do it, even though I've tried it successfully with 12 items on a list, using my kitchen as the palace. 10 items is suppose to be beyond the abilities of straight memorization. My plan has been to design a fantasy castle with a warf and sailing ship to use, I just haven't built it yet.

- Will (Dragonfly)