“Escape Clauses – Getting Away With a Travel Writing Life”
We like supporting writers who love traveling as much as we do, especially the more unusual and offbeat stuff. So in that spirit, below we feature a little teaser about a new travel memoir from writer Bob Payne, an award-winning travel writer and editor with a penchant for seeing the funny sides of things. Over the years, his work has appeared in many magazines, newspapers and online sites, including Conde Nast Traveler, cntraveler.com, concierge.com, Outside, Bon Appetit, Brides, Men’s Journal and Islands. Bob’s work has been called notable by the series The Best American Travel Writing.
Remembering the Smallest of Ships in the Travel Memoir “Escape Clauses – Getting Away With a Travel Writing Life”
By Bob Payne
Among the stories I have shared in my just-published 142-country memoir, “Escape Clauses – Getting Away With a Travel Writing Life,” some of my favorites take place aboard small ships.
Ferrying around Greece…
In Greece, I spent six weeks riding ferryboats from island to island with no itinerary other than to get on the first ferry to come along and take it to whatever island it was headed for next, and then do the same thing again, and again.
Catamaran-ing the Seychelles…
I cruised the Seychelles aboard a chartered catamaran, with King Bamboo Charters, whose crew were talented at flipping a kingfish or mackerel out of the sea and into a simmering Creole sauce before the creature even noticed that the water was becoming uncomfortably warm.
Swimming at the North Pole…
And, I even crunched my way to the North Pole, and went for a swim there, from aboard the Russian nuclear-powered icebreaker, Yamal.
Bob in the North Pole. * Photo: Bob Payne
And then there was the Boston Light…
My very favorite small ships, though, because they are the ones that let you feel closest to the elements, were the smallest of all, like the 54-foot yacht, Boston Light. My two friends, Knowles Pittman and Kenneth Wunderlich, and I sailed across the Indian Ocean, up the Red Sea, and through the Suez Canal into the Mediterranean aboard the Boston Light.
There were many serene days on that voyage of thousands of miles, when we would sleep, or imagine meals we could make if only we had anything fresh, or read books we would never have found time for ashore, such as Reeds Nautical Almanac, and particularly its section on childbirth at sea.
But the day I remember most, and loved the most, was anything but serene, and about as close to the elements as you could get. It was a day when the winds howled and solid water washed over Boston Light’s crazily heeled deck.
Kenneth was in the cockpit, steering. Knowles, dressed in florescent yellow foul weather gear, was on the bow, wearing a safety harness so that he wouldn’t be swept over the side as he wrestled with a sail we needed to haul down and replace with a smaller one.
I was at the mast, working various sail controls and following an age-old dictum that every nautical chronicler knows well: One hand for yourself, and one for the ship, and one for the camera.
“Knowles,” I shouted, “Smile.”
He looked up and smiled, and as I clicked away with my waterproof camera, he was inundated by a wall of white water from which it took him so long to reappear that I wondered if our short-handed crew was going to become even shorter.
That cover of Sail magazine. * Image: Bob Payne
Knowles turned 65 that day, and we called the photo his 65th birthday portrait.
It eventually ran on the cover of Sail magazine, and among all the photos I have taken, it is a favorite, ranking high even when measured against the shots that would have been award-worthy, had I remembered to take the lens cap off.
So are you hooked? Then dive into the entirety of Bob’s travel memoir, “Escape Clauses – Getting Away With a Travel Writing Life.” Here’s the Amazon link.
“Escape Clauses – Getting Away With a Travel Writing Life” by Bob Payne
RELATED: Check out Heidi & Ted’s reading list for small-ship cruise lovers.
Don’t miss a post about small-ship cruising, subscribe to QuirkyCruise.com for monthly updates & special offers!
© This article is protected by copyright, no part may be reproduced by any process without written permission from the author. All Rights Reserved. QuirkyCruise.com.
HEIDI SARNA
