Disaster (or Nearly So)

A couple of weeks ago our Sea Scout boat, the Rowan Hope, parted her mooring in the middle of the night in 40 knots of wind and took an unscheduled voyage across Potts Harbor and came to rest as you see her above. Incredibly, as you can see in the picture, she skipped over the granite ledge, missed the ledge ahead of her, and flopped over on the one stretch of mud and eel grass along the entire shore line (God loves Sea Scouts, and there's the proof). This was actually on my neighbors', the Bibbers, property. Bobby Bibber ran a line from the bow and stern to an old apple tree while people tried to figure out who the boat belonged to.

The tide started coming in in the afternoon. Bobby drove his tractor out on the dock and we threw a line over the mast to haul her over to get the keel to clear the ledge. Some of the local lobstermen came by to help.

As the tide came in she floated free. In this picture you can see the line above the spreaders hauling the boat over. She took a couple of good thumps on the ledge but got over into the deep water.

Some of the guys helping us come over in a skiff and put her on a mooring. Incredibly, she suffered no damage, even where she hit hard on the ledge. Tough little boats, those Bristol 24s. We've since sailed her back to Bath, ten miles on open water and another ten up the river, with no problems. She's hauled out for the winter and we can't see any damage done by her little adventure. Ready for another season next year.

Speaking of Sea Scouts, our Ship, 243, the Kennebec Rover is holding a fundraiser Chowder Supper at Maine Maritime Museum November 18, 5:00 - 7:00. If you would like some great chowder, great live music performed by the scouts, and a chance to support this great cause, come on by! For more info e-mail me at jlnelson76@comcast.net.

Meeting My Heroes

It was when I first started to sail seriously, and was living on my boat in Marina Del Rey, California (that's in Los Angeles, for the uninitiated) that I first became acquainted with the books of Lin and Larry Pardey. The Pardey's were one of the first cruising couples, sailing in the wake of Joshua Slocum, and among the first to seriously write about it, bringing that whole subculture of cruising sailors to public attention. I devoured their books, the narratives of their sailing adventures, starting with Cruising in Serraffyn as well as their how-too books, such as Capable Cruiser. In fact, I was ready to follow their example and head off cruising when the sailing ship Golden Hinde arrived in Marina Del Rey and my life spun off in another direction.

So, it was a great thrill to finally meet Lin and Larry in person at the Newport International Boat Show last month, where they and I were signing our new books. They were every bit as wonderful as I imagined they would be, personable and helpful, and with the sense of humor essential to successful sailing. As you can see from the above photo, Larry was even willing to interrupt his lunch to have his picture taken with me (though he was not willing to unhand the sandwich).

For anyone interested in small boat sailing, or armchair adventures at sea, the Pardey's books are a must.

Back in the Element

For about four years now I have owned a lovely sailing vessel, a 26' Pierson Ariel, and for those same four years, every Spring, I have decided I did not have enough a) time or b) money to put it in the water. This Spring I decided that I still did not have enough time or money to put it in the water, but my kids were getting older, I was (apparently) not getting younger and the boat had to go in. My wife Lisa has been very into the idea as well (we met on a ship, after all, and boats were the first thing we had in common). So S/V Paraclete, along with myself, my wife and our kids are finally getting back to where we belong.




Paraclete getting ready to head to sea



Underway in the golden hour, the captain stands in the companionway



Power of the Press

An amusing side benefit of the New York Times mention of my book Reign of Iron - I got to see the sales ranking on Amazon.com shoot up as people who read the article bought the book. Not to say it became a best seller, and with Amazon you have no way of knowing how many books are actually sold (I'm guessing maybe a dozen), but it was clear from the rankings that the article inspired people to buy the book.

And that's why book review editors are flooded with every new title to come out.

I heard a great quote on The Writer's Almanac this morning, by the writer Andre Dubus II:

"[T]he writer who endures and keeps working will finally know that writing the book was something hard and glorious, for at the desk a writer must try to be free of prejudice, meanness of spirit, pettiness, and hatred; strive to be a better human being than the writer normally is, and to do this through concentration on a single word, and then another, and another. This is splendid work, as worthy and demanding as any, and the will and resilience to do it are good for the writer's soul. If the work is not published, or is published for little money and less public attention, it remains a spiritual, mental, and physical achievement; and if, in public, it is the widow's mite, it is also, like the widow, more blessed."

Making the New York Times for Real!

I'm happy to announce that I finally earned a mention in the New York Times that goes beyond a blurry photo from thirty-seven years ago. I was reading this article about the preservation work being done on the turret of the U.S.S. Monitor and thinking that the history part of the article sure seemed to track my book Reign of Iron pretty close. Sure enough, on the second page they cite the book and, of course, name the author.

Okay, now I can die happy.

But not immediately.

Luckily for all interested, Reign of Iron is still in print.

I Finally Make the New York Times!

No, not a book review. That would be nice, but you gotta take what you can get. The picture below appeared in the NYT a couple of days ago, in connection to the current activity of former Watergate conspirator John Dean. It shows Dean being sworn in before the Senate Investigating Committee in 1973.

To Dean's left there is a guy looking at a pad of paper. Above that guy's left shoulder, right where his sleeve meets his coat, you can see the top of a blond head. That's my head! I was eleven years old and my family was taking a trip across country when we happened to be in Washington for Dean's historic testimony. My dad is the man standing against the back wall right over the left shoulder of Notepad Man. Notepad Man is blocking my sister and mother, who were sitting to my right.

A nearly identical picture, taken from a higher angle, appears in Dean's book Blind Ambition. In that one my sister and I are clearly visible, which is how I know that the scalp in this picture is me.

I was a bit young to truly appreciate the historical significance of Dean's testimony, but listening to my folks talk I knew it was big.

Now, the next New York Times appearance had better be a glowing book review...

The Madness Continues

Haven't updated the blog in a while because I keep waiting for some exciting news to report but there appears to be none in the offing. So, just to let folks know I'm still above ground, here we go.

Still hitting to promotion trail for the new book, With Fire and Sword. I was recently down in Boston doing a book signing at U.S.S. Constitution, my favorite ship. Here are some pictures.



Cool ship. Bloody cold day.

Some school kids from St. Louis recently sent me a Flat Stanley, a cut out guy based on kids book by Jeff Brown of that name. The idea is that Stanley enjoys adventures in other places, and then returns to the kids who sent him. In this case Stanley helped me with my book signing.




Jim Nelson and Flat Stanley sign books at the U.S.S. Constitution Museum Store