“Believe me, my young friend, there is nothing – absolutely nothing – half so much worth doing as simply messing about in boats.” 
― Kenneth Grahame, The Wind in the Willows

Creative Bow on Boat

I’ve been asked by many to blog about boats, yachts, generally about sea going vessels, from various perspectives based on almost three decades of my own boat love affair.  Hopefully, certainly undertaking with the right and well-meaning intentions,  useful information and stories will emerge from this point onwards in regards to boats, especially boating in SE Asia, with most of the focus on Malaysia and Thailand – snippets, thoughts, advice and news from myself and others about buying a boat, selling boats, owning a boat, sailing/cruising/racing boats, living aboard boats, repairing boats, marine engines, rigging, sails, brokering boats, registrations,  just about anything to do with boats!

Yes, all for the love of boats and the sea – ‘simply messing about in boats!’

All voyages start from a point somewhere in the world and it need not be a port of great importance for that voyage undertaking to be a significant one for those about to embark on their adventure at sea. Starting this ‘blogging thing’ is a bit like embarking on a voyage but not knowing where you will end up! With that it is actually really quite exciting at the same time somewhat scary. The intention, aim, of this and other blogs that will be posted is to keep it simple, factual, sometimes serious and others on the comical side, and if it isn’t from my own experiences and knowledge base gained from boat ownership, sailing, racing, selling and buying, it will be then gathered/sourced from others who are in ‘the know’. 

What is it about boats and the sea that has such an incredible effect on people, to drive so many to what some would see as a compulsive-obsessive passion with boats? 

Whether it be a sailing boat, power boat, go-fast or just chug-a-lug-alonger, big or small – What are some of the biggest joys of owning a boat? Many of the best times of my life have been had on boats. Memories of perfect sailing conditions, stormy weather, long passages, sailing with great crew, sailing with nightmare crew, break-downs, ingenious solutions for problems aboard, and the list goes on and on. For now this is just the introduction and I’ll be on the learning curve of what it is that you, the readers, really want to know/read/contribute to about the broad subject of boats. 

This is going to be an interesting journey and I look forward to sharing more from this point onwards – who knows where it will go from this humble port of departure!