Book Report: Mutiny on the Bounty

So, I finished reading Mutiny on the Bounty. Lots of nautical terms, classical sailor stuff, and swashbuckling jargon!  I dog-eared the pages with passages that I wanted to share with you, my readers. There are too many to share. Here is a small passage to whet your appetite:

Page 31 reads, “I shared with Hayward, Stewart, and Young a berth on the lower deck. In this small space the four of us swung our hammocks at night and had our mess, using a chest for a table and other chests for seats,” and, “For a month or more every man aboard received a gallon of beer each day, and when that was gone, a pint of fiery white mistela wine from Spain—the wine our seamen love and call affectionately ‘Miss Taylor.’ And when the last of the wine was gone we fell back on an ample supply of the sailor’s sheet anchor—grog.”


“As I mused on the Bounty’s sails and ropes, asking myself how this order or that would be given, and wondering how I should go about obeying were I told to furl a royal or lend a hand at one of the braces, I felt something of a spell which even the smallest ship casts over me to this day.”

Mutiny on the Bounty is such a classic tale that one fellow decided to recreate Captain Bligh’s treacherous journey from the Tonga to West Timor! A re-enactment of 4000 miles at sea on a starvation diet!

I am off to the library to get Moby Dick!
Happy Reading!

Here is a list of other great Sailing Books for your reading pleasure!

How to be a Good First Mate

Basically, every marriage book I've ever read has prepared me for taking on the task of becoming a First Mate. We have been married for 8 years, so I've read a lot of them! Now it is just time to follow all that good advice.

I feel like each time we take the boat out of the slip we are playing out some quotable vignette in which the Captain (husband) is supposed to manage the way-ward crew (wife and/or family) and subvert any possible attempted mutiny. This is not a compliment to my own behavior! I am usually the instigator of said mutiny attempts. Insubordination cannot be tolerated on such a small vessel!

Ha ha! All joking aside, the opportunity to become a better help-mate has rather clearly presented itself. I have taken to refinishing the galley. Truman has attended to the motor and sails. We make a good team actually. But, we are learning to steer, tack, navigate, anchor, etc.

There are several obstacles:

First of all, I have never taken a sailing class. I have never read a sailing book. I might be considered lazy.... the jury is still out on that one. But, Truman has the task of educating himself and then educating me at whatever level he feels appropriate. I am perfectly happy with this arrangement!

Let's see how it works out this year! Follow along with us!

~ Lauren, First Mate