Favorite Description of Messing About In Boats

[BeauV]

I read things from time to time that get Grahame's text from Wind In The Willows either wrong or mutilated. They take out the various "-" and "." that are in the original. But it has been such a compelling bit of writing since I was a little kid that I wanted to post it here as an example of one of my favorite descriptions of messing about in boats.

Please post those bits of writing you've found most descriptive or evocative.

"Is it so nice as all that?" asked the mole, shyly...

"Nice? It's the only thing," said the Water Rat Solemnly, as he leaned forward for his stroke. "Believe me, my young friend, there is nothing -- absolutely nothing -- half so much worth doing as simply messing about in boats."

"Simply messing...about in boats -- or with boats... In or out of 'em it doesn't matter. Nothing seems to matter, that's the charm of it. Whether you get away, or whether you don't; whether you arrive at your destination or whether you reach somewhere else, or whether you never get anywhere at all, you're always busy, and you never do anything in particular; and when you've done it there's always something else to do, and you can do it if you like, but you'd much better not."

"Look here! If you've really nothing else on hand this morning, supposing we drop down the river together and have a long day of it.?"

[BeauV]

Then there is this one by Mansefield, which is my favorite bit even though the first stanza gets all the attention:

I must go down to the seas again, to the vagrant gypsy life,
To the gull's way and the whale's way, where the wind's like a whetted knife;
And all I ask is a merry yarn from a laughing fellow-rover,
And quiet sleep and a sweet dream when the long trick's over.

[kimbottles]

Sailing and cycling............boats and bicycles

[JoeP]

The Wind in the Willows is an all time favorite. I remember reading it as a child curled up in a chair in front of the fireplace or in bed under the covers with a flashlight long after I should have been asleep.

I remember reading Masefield''s Sea Fever at around 12-13 years old and not really getting it but then rereading it later and really enjoying it, to the extent that I posted it on my wall at work.

One of my best book purchases was a boxed set of two books, one was of short stories of the sea and the other, Moods of the Sea was of sea themed poetry. It was published by Naval Institute Press. I read from the books at least once a year if not more.

Then there are the limericks:

There was a young fellow named Sid

Who thought he knew more than he did.

He thought that a shark

Would turn tail if you bark.

So he swam out to try it – poor kid.

[Olaf Hart]

Well, it's not far down to paradise, at least it's not for me
And if the wind is right you can sail away and find tranquility
Oh, the canvas can do miracles, just you wait and see.
Believe me.
It's not far to never-never land, no reason to pretend
And if the wind is right you can find the joy of innocence again
Oh, the canvas can do miracles, just you wait and see.
Believe me.
Sailing takes me away to where I've always heard it could be
Just a dream and the wind to carry me
And soon I will be free
Fantasy, it gets the best of me
When I'm sailing
All caught up in the reverie, every word is a symphony
Won't you believe me?
Sailing takes me away to where I've always heard it could be
Just a dream and the wind to carry me
And soon I will be free
Well it's not far back to sanity, at least it's not for me
And if the wind is right you can sail away and find serenity
Oh, the canvas can do miracles, just you wait and see.
Believe me.
Sailing takes me away to where I've always heard it could be
Just a dream and the wind to carry me
And soon I will be free
Songwriters: Carter Burwell
Sailing lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group

[Olaf Hart]

https://youtu.be/7khQNR7s1Ho

[BeauV]

Well, if we’re going for songs, I guess I better add this one. (Which is not about MAYAN but about a two masted gaff schooner that Steven Stills either owned or chartered for a trip from Los Angeles to Tahiti.)

Got out of town on a boat goin' to Southern Islands
Sailing a reach before a followin' sea
She was makin' for the trades on the outside
And the downhill run to Papeete
Off the wind on this heading lie the Marquesas
We got eighty feet of the waterline nicely making way
In a noisy bar in Avalon I tried to call you
But on a midnight watch I realized why twice you ran away
Think about
Think about how many times I have fallen
Spirits are using me, larger voices callin'
What Heaven brought you and me cannot be forgotten
Around the world (I have been around the world)
Lookin' (lookin' for that woman girl)
Who knows she knows (who knows love can endure)
And you know it will
When you see the Southern Cross for the first time
You understand now why you came this way
'Cause the truth you might be runnin' from is so small
But it's as big as the promise, the promise of a comin' day
So I'm sailing for tomorrow my dreams are a-dyin'
And my love is an anchor tied to you (tied with a silver chain)
I have my ship and all her flags are a-flyin'
She is all that I have left and music is her name
Think about
Think about how many times I have fallen
Spirits are using me, larger voices callin'
What Heaven brought you and me cannot be forgotten
I have been around the world (I have been around the world)
Lookin' (lookin' for that woman girl)
(Who knows love can endure)
And you know it will
And you know it will
So we cheated and we lied and we tested
And we never failed to fail it was the easiest thing to do
You will survive being bested
Somebody fine will come along make me forget about loving you
And the southern cross
Songwriters: Michael Curtis / Richard Curtis / Stephen Stills
Southern Cross lyrics © Music Sales Corporation