Publishing update as at 25 May 2023. plus Before the Voyage: the Boat’s story, and all about the Dream Ship
Good News – the book is with the printer.
The book is finally with the printer. All being well printing of The Voyage of The Aegre book will be completed by mid-June. Then we’ll start sending out advance copies for review. On track for the launch and publication in late July.
Cut it to 250!
At first writing, The Voyage of The Aegre book had about 350 pages. ‘Too long!’ said the first publisher to take a serious interest. ‘Cut it to 250’. It was hard. It wasn’t a matter of re-arranging a few paragraphs. 100 pages had to go. It was a blood bath. A rewrite, then another. But the book is the better for it. However, lots of good stuff ended up on the floor. For instance, I’d written supporting notes on every chapter (a good 30 pages) and added appendices (another 30 pages), and then in the harsh light of the editing room, I had to accept that some of the stories I’d included just weren’t central, but a diversion, and they had to go too (30 pages of them), which together with thorough editing left 261 pages.
But all was not lost. I resolved to publish selected chapter notes and appendices to the story on the book website as background for the ardent reader. Here is one.
The Boat’s story
This is all about the boat, The Aegre, before Julie and I bought her. It’s quite a story, told in previous owner Andy Bryce’s own words, with characters like Big Jim from Swona, the Laverne, and many a pint after a hard day’s sail across the Pentland Firth where the tide can run at 16 knots, and on a good day the wind is merely a full gale.
I started this backgrounding with the story of the Nelly Bly – now I’ve expanded ‘About The Aegre’ into six pages. Don’t miss them.
- The Aegre – An overview
- Firstly, the Nelly Bly
- Building The Aegre
- The Aegre Sails the Orkneys
- Forward to 2005
- About Shetland boats
Another lesser-known but inspiring read :
The Cruise of the Dream Ship by Ralph Stock – 1921
One of my favourite cruising books, the one I pull out on a cold wet Sunday afternoon ‘cos it always makes me smile.
Stock writes of his wartime dream in the trenches of France, to sail away to the South Seas on his own boat. A fanciful and extraordinary idea in 1917 for a man of relatively modest means. But somehow he makes it come to pass, and heads off with his sister Peter (sic) and good friend Steve, aboard a 47ft Colin Archer sloop built in 1908. With no paid hands but a piano below. Across the Atlantic and much of the Pacific. Common today, but not so in 1919. His writing is a delight to read with his dry English humour. I’ve created a page on the website under ‘Lesser know inspiring reads’ which is under the Artifacts tab. Here: The Cruise of the Dream Ship.
