TRAMP

the Henry Bonneaud

the Peter P

Mataora

the Paddy

Lambros L

Creed O'Hanlon has suggested I rename my weblog "Minimalist Cruising". I realize that has been my recent focus, and will remain so in the forseeable future, but I do have shifting interests and named my weblog to allow myself the freedom to go anywhere I want. To wit, I bought this book on the shrinking world of the tramp frieghter recently, at a library sale I've already mentioned. Titled simply TRAMP, it's now out of print. Published in 1986 by Chronicle Books of San Francisco, it was written by Michael Krieger with photographs by Judy Howard. It's a really beautiful book, large format and crisp photography. My scans don't really do it justice. The book documents 19 boats which are probably no longer with us. Stories, interior shots, crew photos and some documentation take it from a coffee table book to a maritime document and dramatic documentary. Well worth the $1.00 I spent. If you can find it at a used bookstore and the man wants $15.00, give it to him. Second market copies range from $35.00 to over $100. If I'm not mistaken, many of todays cruising sailors gained their sealegs on just these kind of craft. R.Knox-Johnston and Mr. O'Hanlon, himself, come to mind. These boats are certainly an endangered species and their combination of utility and a strange , industrial aesthetic, plus their rugged, ragged, decaying features make them sheer beauty in my eye.