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Rasselas36 · 19-04-2021, 06:54

I just finished reading the book*entitled "Cruising by Mailboat."* This is the 2nd in the series written by CAPT Fred Braman. Fred is an articulate storyteller and this book captures the essence of a salty sea captain's adventures travelling through his beloved Bahama out islands by various mailboats.* In this book he details the pros and cons of mailboat travel as well as the opportunities*this means of travel*afford.* He captures and documents the behind the scenes history and struggles of some of the not so prominent local families that contribute so much to the development of the Bahama islands life-style and economy.* So much of this book centers on lesser known communities of the out islands that are rarely visited by tourists.* The people depicted in the book are Bahamians that live and work without so much as a note of gratitude for their contributions and that of their families. If you are interested in wanting to capture*the essence of the real Bahamian life-style; then this is the book that tells it like it is.*In summary, CAPT Fred's book allows you to vicariously live the lives*of the people that make the Bahama out island so great.

dougweibel · 19-04-2021, 07:14

If you own a 36' Hunter I can see little reason you'd be interested in cruising by mailboat. You can have the same experiences, minus the monotonous drone of the mailboat engine, and be master of your own timetable cruising the Bahamas in your own boat. There is nowhere the mailboat goes that you cannot and Bahamians are friendly. We have no problem striking up conversations with Bahamians. Drop the hook, take the dingy to shore and walk a few miles down the road. You will have more than enough opportunity to meet all sorts of people if you make an effort. Kids, adults, seniors, poor, wealthy, fishermen, bus drivers, whatever.

jfgy · 19-04-2021, 08:56

I've read the mailboat book and found it excellent. Captain Fred Braman has cruised the Bahamas extensively in his Catalina 30. I think his mailboat outings described in this book were just another approach to visit the fascinating settings with a group of friends. It is a very interesting read which I recommend.
Jess

Rasselas36 · 19-04-2021, 12:06

Sorry you felt the need to criticize my opine of an excellent book. I have and will continue to travel on my H36 and mailboats and other means of transportation as I see fit. Have a nice day.

denverd0n · 19-04-2021, 13:51

Quote:

Originally Posted by dougweibel

If you own a 36' Hunter I can see little reason you'd be interested in cruising by mailboat.

And I see little reason you'd be interested in making a post like this. But it would be an awfully boring world if we all had all the same interests. Don't you think?

Cheechako · 19-04-2021, 14:09

Quote:

Originally Posted by Rasselas36

I just finished reading the book*entitled "Cruising by Mailboat."* This is the 2nd in the series written by CAPT Fred Braman. Fred is an articulate storyteller and this book captures the essence of a salty sea captain's adventures travelling through his beloved Bahama out islands by various mailboats.* In this book he details the pros and cons of mailboat travel as well as the opportunities*this means of travel*afford.* He captures and documents the behind the scenes history and struggles of some of the not so prominent local families that contribute so much to the development of the Bahama islands life-style and economy.* So much of this book centers on lesser known communities of the out islands that are rarely visited by tourists.* The people depicted in the book are Bahamians that live and work without so much as a note of gratitude for their contributions and that of their families. If you are interested in wanting to capture*the essence of the real Bahamian life-style; then this is the book that tells it like it is.*In summary, CAPT Fred's book allows you to vicariously live the lives*of the people that make the Bahama out island so great.

Thanks for posting. I like that kind of stuff. I'll see if I can find it.
A similar one I read was a couple cruising the Bahamas in the early days of cruising there. Can't remember what it was, I'll try to find it.
Have you read Log of the Sea of Cortez by Steinbeck? he traveled there on a work boat in the 60's I think or 50's.

Rasselas36 · 19-04-2021, 16:24

Thanks I'll look for Steinbeck's book.

Rasselas36 · 19-04-2021, 16:25

Thanks.

redneckrob · 19-04-2021, 17:11

Quote:

Originally Posted by dougweibel

If you own a 36' Hunter I can see little reason you'd be interested in cruising by mailboat. You can have the same experiences, minus the monotonous drone of the mailboat engine, and be master of your own timetable cruising the Bahamas in your own boat. There is nowhere the mailboat goes that you cannot and Bahamians are friendly. We have no problem striking up conversations with Bahamians. Drop the hook, take the dingy to shore and walk a few miles down the road. You will have more than enough opportunity to meet all sorts of people if you make an effort. Kids, adults, seniors, poor, wealthy, fishermen, bus drivers, whatever.

It hurts to have to get so pedantic here, but recommending a book about someone's experiences is not recommending that one duplicate those experiences. I highly recommend Bill Bryson's book about hiking the Appalachian trail, for example. I'll probably never do the through-hike and could certainly cover the same ground by car, RV, or in my case since I'm a helicopter pilot, by helicopter. That in no way diminished my enjoyment at reading about Bill Bryson's experience hiking the route, or my recommendation to others even those who could never hike more than a mile, to read the book for entertainment. Stop and smell the roses, enjoy art and entertainment for its own sake. Life is far fuller when everything doesn't have to have immediate personal application to be worthwhile.

Rasselas36 · 19-04-2021, 18:22

Thanks for sharing.

Nahbrown · 20-04-2021, 06:19

Quote:

Originally Posted by dougweibel

If you own a 36' Hunter I can see little reason you'd be interested in cruising by mailboat. You can have the same experiences, minus the monotonous drone of the mailboat engine, and be master of your own timetable cruising the Bahamas in your own boat. There is nowhere the mailboat goes that you cannot and Bahamians are friendly. We have no problem striking up conversations with Bahamians. Drop the hook, take the dingy to shore and walk a few miles down the road. You will have more than enough opportunity to meet all sorts of people if you make an effort. Kids, adults, seniors, poor, wealthy, fishermen, bus drivers, whatever.

The point of the book went right over your head.

LittleWing77 · 20-04-2021, 06:30

Quote:

Originally Posted by redneckrob

It hurts to have to get so pedantic here, but recommending a book about someone's experiences is not recommending that one duplicate those experiences.

I highly recommend Bill Bryson's book about hiking the Appalachian trail, for example. I'll probably never do the through-hike and could certainly cover the same ground by car, RV, or in my case since I'm a helicopter pilot, by helicopter.

That in no way diminished my enjoyment at reading about Bill Bryson's experience hiking the route, or my recommendation to others even those who could never hike more than a mile, to read the book for entertainment.

Stop and smell the roses, enjoy art and entertainment for its own sake. Life is far fuller when everything doesn't have to have immediate personal application to be worthwhile.

I loved Bryson's book, A Walk in the Woods, too, Rob! And I will probably never do a hike like that either. (Although have hiked the Camino in Spain.)

Did you see what Hollywood did to that book? (Same title, movie version with Nick Nolte)
It's amazing how great a book can be and then the movie version ends up being lame...

My own point-of-view is that no matter what, there is no way of conveying a personal experience that will truly get it across. Bryson's experiences are filtered through his funnybone, so they are eminently entertaining - but ultimately, you just have to experience things for yourself. Then they are yours. And not for sale.

Years ago, I was at the Old Year's Night celebration at Foxy's in the British Virgin Islands. It was a tropically hot and humid night. Everyone was in summer clothes/bathing suits, sandals or barefoot. Rum punches and beer flowed liberally. Foxy's 6 sons were jamming the reggae music. Multiple barbeques were going full-tilt. Hundreds of people were dancing (there were 300 boats in the harbour that night); a guy was walking around in a court jester's hat lit by Christmas lights, a couple was having sex under a picnic table near where I was standing catching my breath (I'm a dancer and there wasn't much of that night I wasn't dancing.)

There was a guy nearby standing on top of a picnic table with a video camera (remember those?) panning in a 360-degree view of the heaving scene at around 2am.

I remember grinning to myself, "he's going to take that tape home, pop it into his video player and tell his family/friends that this was what his sailing holiday was like... and it's not going to capture even one-quarter of this...!"

We had berthed our boat in West End at the old Sunsail base, so found ourselves waiting for the local ferry named When at 3am, which got us back to West End at 4am on New Year's Day.

Now THAT was an experience!

LittleWing77