Ever Wonder Why We Do It? By Mike Peyton, Adlard Coles Nautical, £9.99.
Incredible to learn that yachting cartoonist Mike Peyton is 86. A keen sailor himself, he has owned 13 boats, including Brimstone, Lodestone and Touchstone, on which he took charter parties sailing on the East Coast.
And it is his first hand knowledge, not just of boats and the sea, but also the foibles of the various types of people who sail, that has made his work so successful. Who hasn't experienced a shudder of recognition, looking at some of it?
The cartoons are worth looking at just for the names of the boats, always delightfully appropriate. And they wonderfully capture the love/hate nature of the yachtie's relationship with the sea, so neatly summed up in the title of this new collection.
Why do we do it? It often involves being cold, wet and miserable, and it costs far too much, but we still can't get enough of it.
In this book Peyton not only offers us a choice selection of cartoons from throughout his career, but also a selection of anecdotes about his own sailing experiences. These look at sailing from all kinds of angles and help to explain why “messing about in boats” has been a lifelong passion for him - and the rest of us.
This is a delightful book for dipping in and out of, a good addition to a yacht bookshelf, and would make an ideal gift for any sailing addict.
