There are two types of sailors on an ocean. One uses the wind and tide to gain maximum speed, and the other uses it for maximum distances while protecting his rig from damage. It’s the conservation of a yacht over testing narrow engineering tolerances.
A racing yacht is the lightest it can be and has the most sail for its wetted surface area. A cruising yacht blends an acceptable windage area with good living space and comfort. The differences between the boats to an outside observer seem subtle, but the yachts are worlds apart for these two sailors.
One sailor wants to get to the finish line as soon as possible. The other wants to get through a long voyage safely. One wants trophies and accolades from those on the land. The other wants to experience life on the water from various anchorages.
You could say that the racing sailor wants to spend less time sailing their racing yacht, while the cruising sailor intends to spend more time sailing theirs.
Racing yachts are expensive to keep racing. Conversely, cruising yachts are less costly to keep cruising.
It is fantastic that these odd-shaped floating water vehicles can be powered by nothing but the breeze and take people from one shore to another. The wind has taken humans from one continent to another for hundreds of years. They got on the sea and waited for the wind to push them somewhere.
It’s been long since sailors relied on that wind to push their ships from astern. Now, sailors have harnessed the wind in a way that allows them to sail their boats right into the wind, well, almost.
I began writing a novel while cruise-sailing my own yacht along the east coast of Australia. I lived on the thirty-foot ‘Last Laugh’ and wrote a thriller novel on the chart table. I’d sit and write for hours, listening to the wind howl through the rigging above me.
SEETHINGS 2 takes to the waters of Moreton Bay. My protagonist is a cruising sailor who takes the uniniated out on his boat. There’s a rescue in the story – and then a body is discovered near Tangalooma, Moreton Island. The narrative is about how it got there and why. Someone at the marina knows something, but nobody is talking. It’s a close-knit community. They look after their own at the marina.
If you’re into cruise sailing or like reading stories about the sea (or mystery murders), get a copy today. Find out what cruise sailing is all about while following The Beast into the deep darkness of Moreton Bay.
–Michael Forman. (Author of Dark Fiction – See Below)
SEETHINGS II follows the return of the Storm Killer as a body on a secluded beach in Moreton Bay, igniting fear and denial. While police dismiss the link, the media doesn’t. Mitchell Felding forms a dangerous bond with a man who understands his darkest impulses. When Natasha enters his life, carrying love letters from her murdered mother, intimacy deepens, and truth closes in. Some futures are inherited. Some have escaped.
‘Forman’s writing style is artful, with the protagonist Mitchell’s warped thought processes masterfully exposed. The author has a powerful and vivid command of language and his word pictures are stark and disturbingly real.’
Linda J Bettenay, author of ‘Secrets Mothers Keep’ and ‘Wishes For Starlight’
Discover more from Michael Forman – Author of Dark Fiction & Drama
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