Arthur Ransome boatbuilding quote
I just got a copy of Arthur Ransome's RANCUNDRA'S FIRST CRUISE in the
mail -- used, cheap. It's a memoir of the building and first cruise
of his boat Racundra, "a centerboard ketch just under 30 feet,"
launched in 1922, I think. One of its opening passages is:
"The desire to build a boat is the desire of youth, unwilling yet to
accept the idea of a final resting place. It is for that reason,
perhaps, that when it comes, the desire to build a boat is one of
those that cannot be resisted. It begins as a little cloud on a
serene horizon. It ends by covering the whole sky so that you can
think of nothing else. You must build to regain your freedom. And you
always comfort yourself with the thought that yours will be the
perfect boat, the boat that you may search the harbors of the world
for and not find."
Well, all us Bolger builders are captivated by this "idea of youth,"
and through building boats we'll stay young -- Swallows and Amazons
forever.
All best,
Garth
mail -- used, cheap. It's a memoir of the building and first cruise
of his boat Racundra, "a centerboard ketch just under 30 feet,"
launched in 1922, I think. One of its opening passages is:
"The desire to build a boat is the desire of youth, unwilling yet to
accept the idea of a final resting place. It is for that reason,
perhaps, that when it comes, the desire to build a boat is one of
those that cannot be resisted. It begins as a little cloud on a
serene horizon. It ends by covering the whole sky so that you can
think of nothing else. You must build to regain your freedom. And you
always comfort yourself with the thought that yours will be the
perfect boat, the boat that you may search the harbors of the world
for and not find."
Well, all us Bolger builders are captivated by this "idea of youth,"
and through building boats we'll stay young -- Swallows and Amazons
forever.
All best,
Garth