Tall tales and other thoughts from storyteller, sailor and nomad Dennison Berwick. "Kuan Yin" is his 32-foot go-anywhere home.
Posted in Labrador, Life skills, Sailing on Sep 2nd, 2010
Savouring a small personal achievement.
With good reason, rounding Cape Horn at the southern tip of South America is still regarded as a major accomplishment for any sailor. Storms (one category above mere gales!) can rage for days with waves reaching 80 – 100 feet high. Numerous ships and countless sailors have lost their lives in [...]
Every sailor has a destination or a crossing that marks for them both a challenge and, if they make it, an accomplishment. While doing the Yachtmaster course in England two winters ago, it was crossing the English Channel. Now, on my way east to Labrador, it was the 28-mile crossing of the St. Lawrence from [...]
Posted in Labrador, Sailing, Uncategorized on Aug 16th, 2010
I’m still trying to get over my shock and disappointment to receive a big, new and extra bill from the marina in Rimouski almost two weeks after paying the bill, checking twice that everything was paid and leaving. This extra billing has happened before at the marina (see below) but I’m trying not to let [...]
All’s well that ends well, to repeat Shakespeare. After grinding off the paint and some fairing in about 40 patches all over the hull on both sides, the hull was tested with an ultrasound machine to test the thickness of steel. The good news is that there were no problems at all! The less brilliant [...]
Just minutes before covering the hull of Kuan Yin with three layers of anti-foul paint (to discourage barnacles and marine growth), I was making a last minute inspection when I discovered a small spot of rust that I hadn’t noticed before. All the other spots I’d ground off and coated with two layers of special [...]
Posted in Sailing on May 10th, 2010
There are several different ways to add heating to a boat – propane, diesel, electric, wood – and each has its advantages and it’s drawbacks. Propane and diesel tends to create a lot of condensation which is exactly what one doesn’t want on a boat. Electric will ewither keep you tethered to the dock-marina-paycheck or, [...]
Finally returned to the boat after the winter. “Kuan Yin” seems unscathed by the winter cold, damp, ice or snow. Even the teabags from last year were fresh enough to use and I was a great relied to find absolutely no signs of dampness, mold, or insect or rodent penetration.
My thanks to Dr. Magdalena Krondl [...]
Posted in Sailing on Apr 17th, 2010
Kuan Yin setting sail from Toronto, Ontario, Canada, in August 2009 on her way to Labrador after a major refit. My friend Don Roht took this photo and many others, some of which I’l be posting in an album shortly. Don and Rupert Hummel came out in an inflatable just before sunrise in August to [...]
Posted in Life skills, Reportage/Stories on Jan 7th, 2010
Do you believe in synchronicity?”
Whether or not you believe that certain things “are meant to be”, human beings are pattern seekers and there’s a strange sort of comfort in discovering links among apparently random occurrences. Who was it who said, “there are no coincidences?”
Posted in Sailing on Jan 7th, 2010
So much can change in just a few hours. That’s both the thrill and the challenge of sailing. There was no wind at all when I departed Lévi, across the river from Quebec city, soon after sunrise, so I motored against the sluggish incoming tide for a couple of hours.
I was now confident, after the excellent repairs [...]
"Serendipity" is the art of finding something valuable or delightful when you're not looking for it. It's how you might also define living life as an adventure - which is something I seek to do everyday - and accepting whatever happens.
