The Voyage of Super Shrimpy

[Owly055]

http://www.bluemoment.com/pdf/shrimpy.pdf

An Englishman, retired special forces, bought an 18' sailboat, and having zero experience sailing, sailed around the world, beginning the voyage with virtually no money, working his way along earning money in various ways.  His first experience sailing was when he raised the mast, and figured out how to set the sails as he describes here:

Course: down river?. We were off!
The next morning we passed through Denver Lock into
the tidal waters of the Wash and I was sure I could hear
Shrimpy give a sigh of relief as she touched salt water
again. At the port of King?s Lynn which is in the mouth
of this river, I could erect the mast ? having passed my
last bridge for many a year.
It took me quite a while to figure out where all the
wires and ropes went, for never before had I set foot on a
yacht (let alone sailed one). Eventually, everything
seemed to be in its right place and I was ready for my
first sail.
The next port-of-call was Wells-next-the-Sea where,
using the tides, I got two brand new coats of anti-fouling
on before horrible things could start chomping their way
into my little boat. Then off we went down the Channel,
learning all we could about each other and stopping each
night in a small port or a sheltered anchorage because I
1: Small Beginnings 3 19 August 1972?3 June 1973
dared not yet try to sail in darkness. After only one bad
incident where we had to limp into Cowes with a broken
tiller, we reached Falmouth safe and sound and penniless
on Friday, 22 September.

This adventure really brings the truth of the Sterling Hayden quote below into reality:

Sterling Hayden
?To be truly challenging, a voyage, like a life, must rest on a firm foundation of financial unrest. Otherwise, you are doomed to a routine traverse, the kind known to yachtsmen who play with their boats at sea... "cruising" it is called. Voyaging belongs to seamen, and to the wanderers of the world who cannot, or will not, fit in. If you are contemplating a voyage and you have the means, abandon the venture until your fortunes change. Only then will you know what the sea is all about.

"I've always wanted to sail to the south seas, but I can't afford it." What these men can't afford is not to go. They are enmeshed in the cancerous discipline of "security." And in the worship of security we fling our lives beneath the wheels of routine - and before we know it our lives are gone.

What does a man need - really need? A few pounds of food each day, heat and shelter, six feet to lie down in - and some form of working activity that will yield a sense of accomplishment. That's all - in the material sense, and we know it. But we are brainwashed by our economic system until we end up in a tomb beneath a pyramid of time payments, mortgages, preposterous gadgetry, playthings that divert our attention for the sheer idiocy of the charade.

The years thunder by, The dreams of youth grow dim where they lie caked in dust on the shelves of patience. Before we know it, the tomb is sealed.

Where, then, lies the answer? In choice. Which shall it be: bankruptcy of purse or bankruptcy of life? ?

― Sterling Hayden, Wanderer

[Frank]

Good to get that link.
The old one posted back in 2008 doesn't work anymore



http://sailfar.net/forum/index.php?topic=1113.msg16495#msg16495
_/)

[Norman]

I very much enjoyed that back in 2008 also.

The world has changed a lot since his voyage, and it is easier now to make some of the crossings than then, but the destinations are mostly civilized beyond recognition.  His description of the overpopulation of Tonga has resulted in a large migration of
Tongans to Hawaii, where they blend in with the native population, to whom they are related from the inter island trading and exploration of the Pacific Islanders.

Shirley and I attended a Tongan feast and seasonal festival by personal invitation.  It was not a tourist event, nor a fundraiser, and less than 10% of the attendees were "white".  The singing and dancing were amazing in its variety, and participated in by all ages at different times.  The little children copied the adults in their own separate dances, extending the life of the traditions.

All the food was in a similar tradition to our American Pot Luck, and there were very few dishes that we had ever tasted before.  Virtually none of it was prepared using off island ingredients.  The diners seated around us, whom we did not know, spoke mostly good English, and explained what the dishes contained if we asked.

The feast started at about 6 PM, and continued til midnight.  It was buffet style, and there was plenty remaining for the families to take home.

The musical instruments were mostly traditional, skin head drums and hollow logs beat on the sides, shell horns, wind instruments blown both from the side and end, and shell percussion devices of wildly varied style.  Although the drums were by far the most powerful sources of sound, they were mostly played gently, and did not overpower the other sounds.  There were a few exceptions, as there were a few drum only explosions of sound, with incredibly wild dancing by the most athletic of the audience!

There was not a distinction of performer and audience, when a group of singers or dancers finished, they returned to the audience, and a new group got up and started.  There was clearly a previously arranged sequence for the performers, and each group had a leader.  When the leader arose, others scattered around in family groups suddenly stood up and joined the leader at the front of the lawn.  The grass in that area was mostly gone at the end of the festival, and the grass further back where the overall crowd joined in many of the dances was well beaten down!

Our host explained that they have about 4 such festivals a year, and hundreds attend.  We were very fortunate to be in Honolulu when one occurred, and make friends with someone who was going.  They excused themselves as they needed to get their food and go to the festival, adding "If you would be interested, I would like for you to come as my guest".  No chance we would turn that down!

Our visit to Hawaii was about a decade after Action's Shrimpy voyage.

[Travelnik]

I used to like that Sterling Hayden quote until I found out that Wanderer was 96' LOA with a full crew.

Minimalist?  :o

[w00dy]

Grog for a great description of a unique experience, Norman.

It is a good quote, regardless of your boat size. Still, makes me wonder about what his budget for that voyage would have been...

[Norman]

Sterling Hayden borrowed $50,000 to outfit his 96 foot boat he already owned, crewed it with people who thought they were going to be in a documentary movie, and jumped ship in Tahiti when they realized it was all his dream, not theirs. 

When the money ran out, he went home and went back to the terrible grind of being a movie star with a huge income.

Woody, the quote has no connection with how he lived his life, just how he thought life might be lived.  The bottom line at his house was money.  Read his book about the voyage, it is a great book if you can keep your mind off that quote!

I did get a lot of laughs reading your book about the cruise down the ICW on the English narrow boat.  The author made no bones about spending money freely to assure an easy trip, but also went well out of his way to find more interesting places and people along the way.  Thank you for the gift! 

[Norman]

Those were 1960 dollars, Corporal US Army, with overseas pay and uniform allowance came to $112 per month.

$50,000 then would buy what $500,000 buys now.

He did return, go back to movie star, and repaid the loan.

Sterling could not live the life of an ordinary working guy, too poor pay, too long hours.  Otherwise he could have remained in Tahiti and worked odd jobs until Wanderer sank from neglect.

In all fairness, he did star in some very good movies.

[w00dy]

"Mo money, mo problems"...??