Sailor Beware

The idea of getting a boat and sailing the world is a common one ...

One Man's Dream Boat Is Another's Dangerous Wreck

... especially amongst those approaching retirement, or dreaming of winning a lottery fortune.

Sailor Beware

'Oh what shall we do with a drunken sailor, what do you do with a drunken sailor, what do we do with a drunken sailor, early in the morning' is a popular children’s ditty, and an even older sea shanty.

Drunken Sailors Have Existed Since Time Immemorial

I have heard several other variants of this part of the song, including the anti-British, American version ....

'What'll we do with a Limejuice skipper? ..... Soak him in oil till he sprouts a flipper.' .... 'Limeys' was the American name for British sailors who ate lemons and limes to stop the scurvy.

Lost At Sea

"Lost at sea" .... No I'm not talking about Gordon Brown's election campaign. And when I say that 'some people shouldn't really be allowed out on their own', I am still not referring to Mr Browns 'meet the people' jaunts.

No, I am in fact referring to the tale of the unnamed naval 'explorer', who armed only with a 'Krusty Burger' location map (ala Homer Simpson ....), and keeping land firmly to his right hand side, managed to keep sailing around the small island of Sheppy off the Kent coast until he ran out of fuel.

Apparently believing all the while that he was sailing around Britain on his way to Southampton. Despite being 'rescued by the 'lifeguard' he is believed to have refuelled and set off again, no more the sailor than before, and probably none the wiser either.