Book description
If you're wondering what Chris Stewart did before he and Ana moved
to El Valero, their Spanish farm, here's one of the answers. He took
to the sea, landing a job as skipper for the summer, sailing a Cornish
Crabber around the Greek islands. It was his dream job Â- and there
was just one tiny problem. He hadn't ever sailed before and had not
the foggiest how to start. In a series of madcap and hilarious
adventures we follow Chris from a shaky start in Chichester harbour to
his epic Odyssey to Spetses (a bucket would have been handy), and then
on to the journey of a lifetime Â- battening down the hatches on a
trip across the North Atlantic. It's a journey crackling with Chris's
zest for life, irresistible humour, and unerring lack of foresight.
Dry land never looked more welcoming. Chris Stewart shot to fame with
Driving Over Lemons Â- Sort Of Books' launch title in 1999. Funny,
insightful and real, the book told the story of how he bought a
Spanish peasant farm on the wrong side of the river, with its previous
owner still resident. It became an international bestseller and
together with its sequels Â- A Parrot in the Pepper Tree and The
Almond Blossom Appreciation Society Â-has sold more than a million
copies in the UK alone. Chris prepared for life on his Spanish farm
with jobs of doubtful relevance. He was the original drummer in
Genesis (he played on the first album), then joined a circus, learnt
how to shear sheep, went to China to write the Rough Guide, gained a
pilot's license in Los Angeles, and completed a course in French
cooking. Three Ways to Capsize a Boat fills in his lost years as a
yacht skipper in the Greek islands and dodging icebergs in the
Atlantic. It is that rare thing: a book about sailing equally fun for
people without a trace of sea legs. Chris, his wife Ana and their
daughter Chloë continue to live on their farm, with their numerous
dogs, cats, chickens, sheep and misanthropic parrot.
