New
AcquisitionsThe Mind of the Sailor; Peter Noble and Ros Hogbin; Adlard Coles, 2001; 0-7136-5025-7; £10.99; CA 15921
Peter Noble is a psychiatrist and Ros Hogbin is a yachting writer; both are ocean cruisers, thus well qualified to write about the psychology of sailing. That said, this slender (dare I say “lightweight”) volume is an unusual mixture of history, research, and interviews on a variety of topics concerned with “the mind of the sailor”.
The chapter I found of greatest interest was the one about Captain William Bligh, who, it transpires, was not a brutal flogger, but rather a rude and inflexible person who nonetheless looked after his crew well. Other chapters cover single-handed sailing, ocean racing, abandoning ship and other topics where there is interest in “the mind of the sailor”. I recommend this book to those who are preparing to embark on an ocean cruise with unfamiliar crew; there are some salutary tales and some practical advice for people in this situation.
For other “boat nuts” such as myself, it is a book to borrow rather than to buy, to dip into rather than to read from cover to cover. The final chapter, on “the joy of sailing” includes some black and white photographs of idyllic anhorages, and concludes with the fine sentiment: “the mind of the sailor is so many things: inquisitive, at peace, in turmoil, happy, determined and free. Above all, it is open to the unknown and whatever it finds there, within the wind and the waves”. Hear, hear. - CN
Page prepared 8 October 2001
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Acquisitions |