#viking yachts

[bigboyboats]

New Arrival: 2024 Viking 64 Convertible

Our New Stock Viking 64 Convertible.

[aimeedaisies]

The Princess Royal’s Official Engagements in October 2024

01/10 As Court Member of the Fishmongers’ Company, visited a Food Technology Class at Bingley Grammar School. 🐟🏫

As President of the UK Fashion and Textile Association, visited SIL Group’s Fibre Processing Mill at Ladywell Mills in Bradford. 🧵🧣

Visited Viking Arms Limited in Harrogate. ⚔️🏹🗡️

02/10 Visited Blackburn Meadows Bio-Mass Power Plant in Tinsley, Sheffield. 🍃🔋

Visited Sheffield Forgemasters. 🔥⚒️

Visited Loadhog at the Hog Works. 🚛🚚

Opened the University of Sheffield’s Gene Therapy Innovation and Manufacturing Centre. 🧬

03/10 As President of Carers Trust, attended the Short Breaks Wales Conference at Sophia Gardens Cricket Ground in Cardiff. 🦽🏴󠁧󠁢󠁷󠁬󠁳󠁿

As Colonel of The Blues and Royals (Royal Horse Guards and 1st Dragoons), attended the Annual Dinner at the Mandarin Oriental Hyde Park Hotel in Knightsbridge, London. 💂🍽️

04/10 As Vice Patron of the British Horse Society attended the Changing Lives Through Horses Forum at Saddlers' Hall in London. 🐎

08/10 As President of the Royal Yachting Association, opened Warsash Sailing Club’s renovated Clubhouse. ⛵️🍾

As Patron of Catch22, visited the Orion Centre in Havant, Hampshire. 🫂

Sir Tim represented Princess Anne at the Memorial Service for Mrs Julia Rausing (Philanthropist) which was held in St James’s Church in London. ⛪️

09/10 Attended the Annual National Service for Seafarers in St. Paul's Cathedral. ⛪️⚓️

10/10 As Patron of the Royal College of Emergency Medicine, attended the Annual Scientific Conference at the Glasshouse International Centre for Music in Gateshead. 💊

As Patron of the Butler Trust, visited North Tyneside Youth Justice System in North Shields. 🔗

Opened a renovated manufacturing facility in North Shields. 🏢

11/10 As Admiral of the Sea Cadet Corps, Marine Society and Sea Cadets, opened Midlands Boat Station in Birmingham. 🫡⛵️

As Chancellor of Harper Adams University, opened the Digital Learning Hub at the Quad in Telford. 🖥️💻🎮

As Patron of YSS Limited, visited the Criminal Justice Service at the Shropshire Golf Centre in Telford. 👩‍⚖️

14/10 As Guardian of Give Them A Sporting Chance and the Chaffinch Trust, held Management Board and Team Meetings at Gatcombe Park. 💼

15/10 With Sir Tim as Royal Patron of the Motor Neurone Disease Association, attended the “Countdown to Cure” Reception at the Royal College of Nursing in London. 💊

With Sir Tim As Patron of the Remembrance Trust, attended a Dinner at the Beefsteak Club in London. 🌹

16/10 As Royal Patron of the Security Institute, attended the Annual Conference at the Royal Society of Medicine. 🚨🔒

As Master of the Corporation of Trinity House, attended a Civic Luncheon at Trinity House. 🍽️

As Royal Patron of WISE, attended the Annual Conference at IET London: Savoy Place. 🧩

17/10 As Patron of the Cathedral Church of Saint German Peel Development Appeal attended a Thanksgiving Service in St German’s Cathedral, Peel, Isle of Man. 🇮🇲⛪️

Visited the Manx National Heritage “All at Sea” Exhibition at the House of Manannan in Peel, Isle of Man. 🇮🇲 🌊

As Grand Master of the Royal Victorian Order, attended Evensong and a Reception at The King’s Chapel of the Savoy in London. ⛪️🍾

As President of the Royal Society for the encouragement of Arts, Manufactures and Commerce, attended a Reception to mark the 250th Anniversary of RSA House. 🎂

Unofficial Sir Tim, as Chair of the Board of Trustees of the Science Museum Group, attended the launch of the Manchester Science Festival at the Science and Industry Museum in Manchester. 🧪🧬🔭

18/10 On behalf of The King, held an Investiture at Buckingham Palace. 🎖️

Attended a performance by the Spanish Riding School of Vienna at OVO Arena in Wembley. 🇦🇹🇪🇸🐎

19/10 With Sir Tim Attended British Champions Day at Ascot Racecourse. 🏆🐎

22/10 As Master of the Corporation of Trinity House, chaired the Quarterly Meeting of the Court and attended a Luncheon at Trinity House. 💼

As Patron of UK Coaching, held a Reception at Buckingham Palace to celebrate Olympic and Paralympic Coaching. 🇬🇧🏅

23/10 Attended a Bicentenary Commemorative Service to recognise the Scottish Fire and Rescue Service in St Giles’ Cathedral, Edinburgh. 🚒🧯👨‍🚒

As Royal Patron of Leuchie Forever Fund, held a Benefactors’ Dinner at the Palace of Holyroodhouse. 🍽️

24/10 Re-opened the Rowan Glen Factory at Palnure, near Newton Stewart. 🍶

As Patron of the Royal College of Occupational Therapists, opened the new wing at West Cumberland Hospital in Whitehaven. 🏥

With Sir Tim As Patron of the Royal Navy and Royal Marines Charity, attended the Trafalgar Night Dinner at the Old Royal Naval College in Greenwich. ⚓️🫡🍽️

25/10 Opened the British Standards Institution International Electrotechnical Commission Annual Meeting at the Edinburgh International Conference Centre. 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿🔋

28/10 Attended the Prison Advice and Care Trust’s 125th Anniversary National Volunteer Awards at St John’s Church in London. 🏆

29/10 On behalf of The King, held morning and afternoon investitures at Windsor Castle.🎖️

31/10 Visited the Robotic Surgery Unit at Musgrove Park Hospital in Taunton. 🤖🏥

Attended a Reception for the Pride of Somerset Youth Awards winners at Bridgwater and Taunton College. 🏆

Was installed as Chancellor of Health Sciences University before launching the University in Bournemouth. 🎓

As Patron of Save the Children UK, attended the Autumn in the City Dinner at the Savoy in London. 🍽️

Total official engagements for Anne in September: 58

2024 total so far: 371

Total official engagements accompanied/represented by Tim in September: 5

2024 total so far: 91

FYl - due to certain royal family members being off ill/in recovery I won't be posting everyone's engagement counts out of respect, I am continuing to count them and release the totals at the end of the year.

[eagle-writes]

I want a Viking funeral but I don’t have a boat so chuck my corpse onto some rich guy’s yacht and set it on fire.

Ink: Diamine Lavender Frost

[rea-grimm]

Otaku guardian of the gate - Chapter 1

You've been looking forward to this trip all your life and you finally got it. Even when you were little, everyone saw you following in your parents' footsteps. You could even say that they infected you with the desire to find the mysterious gate from Atlantis.

When you were older, you all looked for her together. That is, until that fateful accident when they left you here alone. You couldn't get over it for a long time. Maybe until the time when you decided to find the given treasure in their honour.

With this plan, you stood aboard a small yacht equipped with sonar and various computers in the middle of the open ocean and three small uncharted islands. Apparently, the gate should be under one of the islands.

Equipped with special diving gear, you stood on the edge of the ship and watched the water below you. There was a strange calm. Sometimes a fish or a lone shark swam by, but that was it. It was strange because by all accounts it should have been a complete fish paradise.

You checked the necessary things one last time before you jumped. The water was warmer than you expected. You sank and headed for the bottom. You could already see that there were many sunken ships of different nationalities and from different times. 

Long Viking ships decorated with shields, which were partially buried by sand, Japanese frigates, Spanish galleons, giant ships with torn black flags flying in the currents, metal warships and many others.

You swam around the rocks, trying to find anything that might indicate a gate. You found something like an alley of statues in various poses. Based on the style, you assumed they came from ancient Greece. Some were missing their heads, others their limbs, and some were whole. Museums would fight over it.

Subsequently, you found several stones in which various symbols were engraved, the likes of which you had never seen in your life. You then came to a rock that had smooth straight walls and a rectangular entrance leading inside. As if there was once a former door. You tried your luck there. Apart from a few old containers, you didn't find much there. That is, except for the giant black scale, which glistened orange and purple in the light.

After a long day with no organized results, when you may not have found your gate, but instead a lot of other things that could have been a great discovery in themselves. After writing the report, check the photos and all of today's knowledge, which you also checked with your notes. You were definitely close.

Now, after a day of work, it was finally time for a little rest. You were originally thinking about a movie or your favourite TV series where you wouldn't have to think too much and would rather relax. It all sounded tempting, but you had already seen it, and on the other hand, you remembered an anime that you downloaded in case of emergency and that you promised your friend that you would watch.

This anime called The Magical Ruri Hana: Demon Girl was her favorite and she kept convincing you to watch it too. After constant coercion, you nodded your agreement, earning yourself a hug from a lot of octopus, possibly breaking a rib or two.

You made yourself comfortable and played the episode on your laptop. You watched outside on the deck because the weather was nice and you didn't want to shut yourself inside unnecessarily.

After about the first 10 minutes the boat rocked slightly on the waves and you felt as if something was watching you. You settled yourself a little better and turned briefly to look back. 

The original thought that it was nothing, just some fantasy, very quickly turned into Damn, Damn, what is this? You completely froze when you saw your reflection in a giant orange eye that resembled the eye of a snake.

At first, the eye looked like it was watching anime with you, but then it focused on you, winked, and disappeared in a flash with a giant splash under the water. It wasn't until the creature disappeared that you realized you'd been holding your breath the whole time.

The brain could not recover from the shock. A giant eye meant a giant creature and this was a giant snake. The rational part of you tried to explain that it was just a vision, a mere imagination. The other part of you was screaming at you that it was Leviathan, the mythical guardian of Atlantis and that you were damn close.

To take your mind off something else, you played the first episode again from the time you saw the snake. So you watched the first two episodes without any incident and you became calm that it was all just your desire for discovery. When you played the third episode, halfway through, the ship rocked again, and you once again had the strange feeling that you were being watched.

You turned around and there it was again. A giant eye with an iris coloured orange with dark purple edges belonging to a giant black snake. The eye focused on you again and looked like it was about to sink again when you called out to it.

"Wait!" you exclaimed, running ahead to the railing. The snake was already almost completely submerged and only a piece of its head with eyes and horns that resembled branched dark blue corals was visible. 

"You can watch with me!" you exclaimed without even thinking about it. Just so the snake wouldn't sink again and you could get a better look at it.

The snake seemed to hesitate for a moment before re-emerging and tilting its head to get a better view of the computer. He even rested his head lightly against the ship, which had tilted a little. As she leaned over, the snake took off its head again, as if it was afraid that it would sink you otherwise.

When you were both "settled" you started watching. You watched the entire first series and it was truly an incredible experience. Because you would never have thought that a giant snake would enjoy this kind of anime so much.

You could tell for yourself that it wasn't your cup of coffee and you enjoyed the changing scenery of the expressions on the snake's face more than the anime. Shock, joy, nervousness... 

He always got excited when the main character appeared there and either hissed or snorted when someone wronged her. It was truly an incredible spectacle. In the moonlight, his body played with orange and purple highlights.

You turned it off after midnight as your eyes were slowly drooping and you were slowly falling asleep to it. Before you turned it off, the snake disappeared under the water and your boat swayed so much that you had to grab onto something to keep from falling. Such an experience. No one would ever believe you.

1, 2, 3, 4, 5

Obey me! Masterlist

[look-sharp-notes]

#Art #Painting #Sail #Yachting #ocean #sea #yacht #Antarctica #Spirit of wandering #Journey #Discovery #Expedition #Impressions #Gallery Inspiration #Skipper #Helm #Navigation #spirations #elegant notes #look sharp #old school #map #compass #course #navigator #Drakar #Vikings

[shefanispeculator]

ERIC DUNN

Hooray for Viking

Eric Dunn and his wife Wendy have owned three Vikings – all named Hooray, also the moniker of their world-class hunting ranch in Kingman, Kansas – and are currently building their fourth boat. Their Viking ownership experience began with a 55 Convertible followed by hull No. 1 of the 80 Convertible, which took first place in the 2017 Bisbee Los Cabos Offshore Tournament. Their current Viking, a 68 Convertible, will fish in a handful of tournaments this summer in a variety of locations, including the Mobile Big Game Fishing Club Memorial Day Tournament out of Orange Beach, Alabama, and the August 5-9 White Marlin Open out of Ocean City, Maryland. But it’s not all about fishing for Eric, Wendy and their teen-age son, Tucker. They also enjoy vacations on their Vikings and have already experienced a lifetime of memories on the water with family and friends. Their latest adventure? Participating for the first time in the 2019 Viking Key West Challenge. That’s where Valhalla caught up with Eric. In a conversation in the salon of his four-stateroom yacht, Eric talks about the importance of customer service, the performance of the “cuttingedge” Viking convertibles, the power of the people of Viking and his close connection with his dealer, Galati Yacht Sales. You’ll also hear from Wendy and Tucker, too, as they share a few of their unforgettable Viking experiences.

[mybeingthere]

James Dodds (b 1957, British)

"Once a shipwright, Dodds’ paintings illustrate the anatomy of boats, revealing the materials and curves that underwrite the finished vessel, this aspect of his work is explored in Emily Harris’ film for Classic Yacht TV, ‘Shaped by the Sea’, which draws many parallels between the art of the boat builder and the painter of boats.

Yet his paintings go beyond retracing the shipwright’s logic. Rich in colour, tone and texture, they move beyond the literal and evoke sailing’s mythic and historic dimensions. Ethereal in light and tone, paintings of restored boats evoke a lifetime at sea, unearthing the layers of memory that shroud every vessel.

Ancestral lines also resurface in the artist’s new work. Following recent trips to Norfolk and Denmark, Dodds sheds new light on historic North Sea crossings, contending that all clinker-built boats around the British coastline derive from Viking vessels.

As Ian Collins writes: “[Dodds’] life and work are forever immersed in the spirit and spectacle of the sea.” Born in Brightlingsea, Dodds has built his studio a few miles upstream in Wivenhoe, in what was once a great boatyard on the River Colne. Before enrolling in the Royal College of Art he worked as a shipwright, rebuilding Thames barges on Britain’s east coast."

[captainmartinisblog]

First People Step Aside!

Saturday 22nd June 2024 – Halifax, Nova Scotia.

The city of Halifax was founded in 1749 when Lt General Cornwallis arrived with over 1,100 settlers and enough troops to set-up a garrison. This action was in response to the French establishment of Louisbourg on Cape Breton Island (where we were yesterday).

Arriving in Halifax today at 8am, Viking Star ‘parked’ opposite the Georges Island Lighthouse, which happens to be an identical twin to the Louisbourg Lighthouse that we never got to see yesterday on our excursion (a) because there wasn’t enough time and (b) because it was shrouded in scaffolding!

Today though, we had booked the ‘free’ Hop-on-Hop-off sightseeing bus.

However, far being the usual ‘Big Red Bus’ type of tour, ours turned out to be on board a fleet of original 1960s London Routemaster buses, all different colours, running at 15-minute intervals all day, exclusively for Viking passengers! We had all been to Halifax before but it was a lovely, almost nostalgic tour with an on-board guide giving the narration.

They make much of the ‘First Peoples’ thing nowadays and about how the land is shared with the local Mi’kmaq peoples, blah, blah, blah – but well they might because that original settlement by Cornwallis back in 1749 was itself in breach of an earlier agreement with the Mi’kmaq actually living here and yet today the population of the city is more than 500,000. I wonder what the Mi’kmaq think about that.

Anyway, after doing a full 90-minute circuit, we headed for a coffee shop and then Sally went shopping while Andrew, Angie & I went to the Maritime Museum of the Atlantic.

It was an excellent museum, with some fine ship models, including this one of the first Mauretania in her 1930s cruising white.

There was also a featured section on the massive explosion in 1917 that destroyed a vast section of the city when the SS Imo, a Belgian relief ship, collided with the SS Mont-Blanc, a French munitions ship loaded with 4,000 tons of high explosives.

The resulting explosion was the biggest man-made explosion at the time, killing over 2,000 people, injuring over 9,000 and laying waste to a huge area of the city.

It was also by ships from Halifax that, in 1912, the largest number of bodies were recovered and following the sinking of the Titanic. There’s a section in the cemetery here where they are buried.

There were many recovered artefacts on display, including this deck-chair.

A pleasant walk can be had along the Boardwalk from downtown all the way to the Cruise Terminal and there is a wealth of bars, restaurants, shops and ‘playgrounds’ for kids and adults alike.

This private yacht ‘Samsara’ also arrived today and on looking it up, I discovered that the owner is none other than Harry Potter author J.K.Rowling! Available for charter, Samsara sleeps 12 and will cost you $1.1m a week including the crew of 28!

[laura-the-swarming]

When I die, I want a viking funeral. Unfortunately, I don't have a boat, so throw my corpse on some yacht. Of course, I don't expect you to have a bow and arrow at the ready in this day and age, so just light it up with a molotov. In fact, why wait till I'm dead? You can burn down a yacht in my name any time. You free this Sunday?

[emotional-moss]

“actually,” the boy says, twirling a strand of hair around her finger, “mythical creatures aren’t really creatures. you ever heard that it’s more accurate to say ‘the old norse’ rather than ‘vikings?’ that’s because ‘viking’ is more of a job description. it’s what they did, not who they were. same with what people call monsters and myths. it’s not our defining characteristic. vampires know the difference in taste between healthy blood and polluted, and they have plenty to spare. werewolfs make excellent guards, loyal protectors. their nature isn’t so much wild as aggressive, but able to be harnessed. elves are in charge of maintaining ecosystems; urging the flowers to grow and the trees to dig their roots in deeper, making sure populations bounce back. same with mermaids. they have teeth like sharks, excellent for cutting through fishing nets, and gills that absorb petroleum and oil. not to mention sirens; they’re more on the human side of things. many a wealthy asshole has been erased from memory because they decided to set sail on a yacht in the middle of nowhere. fairies blend in pretty easily with humans, and sometimes what keeps you from tipping over the edge is that perceptive, sharp friend who knows how to cheer you up or change your mind. dragons, or something like ’em, are present in almost every culture, for fear and hope and protection and wealth and sometimes more. i mean, i could go on like this for hours, but the point is, ‘monster’ or ‘creature’ or whatever other terms exist, aren’t rigid definitions. they’re job descriptions. they’re characteristics. they’re hobbies. they’re important, but not everything. monsters, like everyone else, are multifaceted beings, not 2D storybook drawings. don’t be fooled.”

[x-wanderingsouls]

Starter: Open to anyone Location: Valentine yacht

There was one person alive on this earth that could get Rune to clean himself up, which meant no blood stains upon his skin nor clothes, and that person was Loki. So, of course Rune stayed true to his word when leather clad feet made contact with the deck, not a single drop of blood could be seen -- however, Rune's hair was in his traditional viking braid, his finest furs adorned muscular shoulders while the bones of his triumphs were worn around his neck, only for special occasions would these be worn by the blood-mage. A deep sigh was omitted as the search for a pint of ale began, before hearing a snicker from his left, keen senses aware that those words were meant for him, and Rune was many things, not all good as he knew, though he would not disrespect someone based upon looks, that truly meant NOTHING in this world, and did not take kindly to such ignorance. "I think you should say it louder." the nomad suggested as he turned to face the culprit as ice blue stare met the unsuspecting gaze of the other, unblinking as Rune stepped closer. "If you are going to insult me, look into my eyes as you say it. Now go on, let me hear that again."

[ourxcountryadventure]

“Attenzione, borseggiatrici! Attenzione, pickpocket!”

July 31, 2023

"If you read a lot, nothing is as great as you’ve imagined. Venice is — Venice is better." 

– Fran Lebowitz

Our day started with a wonderful breakfast in the World Cafe. Viking’s included tour was sold out, and so knowing we wanted to spend time in Venice, we arranged a water taxi to pick us up at the ship and transport us across the lagoon to San Marco (St Mark’s Square). Alas, we needed to be flexible when we were informed that he was not able to dock in Chioggia and instead we taxied to Piazzale Roma and we’re given a tour in our water limo of the Grand Canal before being deposited at San Marco.

We arrived at Piazzale Roma and were taken to the dock to meet our boat - OUR MOTOSCAFFI VENEZIA. It was a thing of beauty. We truly felt like VIPs cruising down the Grand Canal though not nearly as subtle as we enjoyed every second by standing and looking around at the scenery and generally enjoying ourselves to the fullest. We were also enjoying the vision of the most handsome motoscaffi driver in all of Venezia - Davide!

Once at San Marco, we took in the beauty along with thousands of other tourists and walked over to Cafe Florian where Mom, Dad and Julien took a seat and enjoyed light snacks while the rest of us wandered our way to the Rialto Bridge to experience a little bit of Venice by foot. What did anyone do before Google maps? The streets are beautiful and winding and everything except linear. We stopped and window shopped and enjoyed the ambiance and finally made our way back to San Marco to meet our family. They had just spent 70 euros on gelato, a coffee, a coke and a cornetto. Dad’s mouth was still hanging open when we arrived. My oh my! Still, the show must go in and lunch was in the cards and we found a beautiful restaurant tucked away behind the Piazza at the Baglioni Hotel Luna. As luck would have it there was a gondola kiosk adjacent and so we were able to enjoy our lunch knowing it wouldn’t be a big walk for mom and dad for our gondola ride.

The servers at the restaurant made the entire lunch a wonderful experience. They were attentive and kind, formal but approachable. They served us their signature Bellini cocktail along with scrumptious salads and sandwiches. We topped it off with Crème Brûlée and Tiramisu.

During our lunch, the gondoliers were also having a break and so by the time we were finished and lining up there was only one couple (from Montreal) ahead of us. They had told the couple they’d be back in 1/2 an hour but it turned into an hour and a half. Italian time.

We had to take two gondolas and so we loaded and off we went into the Grand Canal. The water was choppy and the gondola tippy but all together wonderful. We saw barges collecting garbage, barges delivering cement (with four cement trucks on board!), vaparettos, motoscaffi, yachts…all kinds of wonderful buildings and sites. We turned into a smaller canal and remarked how deftly the gondolier was able to manoeuvre the long boat. The ride was approximately 30 minutes long and a definite highlight of our visit so far.

Following the gondola ride we did some souvenir shopping along the sea wall and then Davide came back to pick us up and take us on our journey back to the ship. We went a different route which was also nice and got to see some different things including the Venice Fire Boat Station.

We were hoping to see Monica the anti-pick-picket vigilante but we did not. However at Piazzale Roma there was a sign hanging that was thanking her for her movement. 😀

Back to the Viking Sea and a swim before dinner in The Restaurant. Annie had a nap and ordered room service as she had an online exam - 1am-4am Italian Time. Back to the World Cafe for Julien’s pizza and Julie’s after-dinner-dinner. 🤣 A walk around the ship and watching our first sail away from the port rounded out out our evening. Another magical day.

[cyarskj1899]

There’s some great movies. And then there’s some that are total flops

The 25 best movies of 2022 — and the 5 worst

Yahoo Movies Editorial

Tue, December 20, 2022 at 8:00 AM PST·20 min read

In this article: 

If there are a couple themes to the past year in movies, they'd have to big swings and long runtimes.

Matt Reeves reinvented The Caped Crusader as an emo Bruce Wayne in the 176-minute-long The Batman. The directing tandem known as The Daniels made the best multiverse movie of the year (sorry, Doctor Strange) with the mind-bending Everything, Everywhere All at Once (140 minutes). Todd Field opens Tár (158 minutes), his first film in 16 years, with a 15-minute long Q&A with Cate Blanchett's titular character. Ruben Östlund centered the entire second act of Triangle of Sadness (147 minutes) around explosive bodily functions on a luxury yacht. Steven Spielberg made his own biopic with The Fabelmans (151 minutes). James Cameron took 13 years to follow up Avatar with Way of the Water (192 minutes). Ryan Coogler had no choice but to go bold with certain decisions after losing his lead actor in Black Panther: Wakanda Forever (161 minutes). All make our list of the best films of the year.

Scroll to continue with content

Ad

Not every swing was a home run. We're decidedly mixed on the frenzied, borderline-parody Elvis (159 minutes), Damien Chazelle's cocaine-fueled Old Hollywood odyssey Babylon(189 minutes) and Andrew Dominik’s agonizingly depressing Marilyn Monroe story Blonde (166 minutes). But at least none of those ended up on our "worst" list.

Here are our 25 favorite movies of 2022, and five for the birds. — Ethan Alter, Marcus Errico, Chrissy Nguyen, Kevin Polowy and Raechal Shewfelt

25. Barbarian

Not surprisingly behind the chills and jump-scares one of 2022's most shocking horror movies: The Ring and It producer Roy Lee. Surprising: That it was all birthed from the mind of writer-director Zach Cregger, (previously) best known for his improv comedy stylings on The Whitest Kids U Know. Georgina Campbell stars as a woman whose rental home was double-booked. Campbell's Tess decides to stay at the place anyway, albeit with a completely unknown man (Bill Skarsgård), leading to what can only be described as a gruesome, truly unnerving, very surprising nightmare. — R.S.

ADVERTISEMENT

24. The Northman

After The Witch and The Lighthouse, maybe Robert Eggers didn’t want to be pigeonholed as the slow-burn folkloric horror guy. Because Eggers unleashed a can of fury on us with The Northman, his pulsating 136-minute fever dream of pure uncut revenge savagery starring Alexander Skarsgård as a Norse prince who goes full-tilt Inigo Montoya on the bastards that killed his father when he was but a wee viking boy. Nicole Kidman is in it, too, and she brings the fireworks. Focus Features gave Eggers upwards of $70 million to make Northman, but the film failed to crack even. Let us repent by all watching it at least 10 times on streaming. — K.P.

23. Smile

Sometimes the best horror movies come from the very simplest concepts. A shark stalks teens swimming in the ocean. A kid sees dead people. A videotape curses you to death if you watch it. In Smile, Parker Finn's gloriously terrifying feature-length adaptation of his 2020 short film, it's witnessing one spectacularly creepy smile that damns victims in a Ring-esque death chain. Come for the multitude of spine-tingling jump scares, stay for the gutsy performance of Sosie Bacon (daughter of Kevin Bacon, being psychologically tormented in nearly every minute of the film) as the psychologist desperate to break the cycle. Those smiley Trader Joe's employees will never seem the same. —K.P.

22. Triangle of Sadness

Ruben Östlund (The Square) swears he's not shouting "Eat the rich!" with his splendidly odd dark comedy about a feuding model couple invited onto a luxury cruise for the obscenely wealthy. Part Parasite, part Captain Phillips, all Östlund, Sadness's madness has become most famous for its extended (like super-extended) puke-and-poop sequence as spoiled seafood clashes with heavy turbulence, but it's the film's surprising third act — cleverly kept secretive in the marketing — that reaps the biggest rewards. What a voyage. — K.P.

21. The Batman

Robert Pattinson as an emo Caped Crusader... really? While not the most conventional casting, R. Pattz delivers in Matt Reeves's reimagined take on the iconic hero. The film leans into the character's Detective Comics origins with the Dark Knight matching wits with Paul Dano's twisted Riddler, trying to solve a series of grisly murders (inspired by the real-life Zodiac Killer) while navigating a romance with Zoë Kravitz's proto-Catwoman. Unlike another would-be DC franchise launcher this year (*cough* Black Adam *cough*), we're looking forward to spending plenty of time in The Batman's expanding Gotham in the coming years. — M.E.

ADVERTISEMENT

20. Fresh

What's more terrifying than online dating? Well, according to Fresh, nothing. A Sundance breakout, this utterly delightful horror flick is anchored by Sebastian Stan’s unhinged performance as a charming cannibal who supplies victims’ meat to carnivorous gazillionaires. While Stan chews up scenery along with victims, co-star Daisy Edgar-Jones holds her own as his one female captive who refuses to end up on a serving plate. Chock full of twists and squirmy-gory meal prep, Fresh will make you think twice the next time you swipe right. — M.E.

19. Nanny

The big winner at this year's Sundance Film Festival, Nikyatu Jusu's debut feature confidently blends the real-life horrorsof American domestic work with eerie elements borrowed from African folklore. Anna Diop's mesmerizing star turn bridges the gap between the two worlds, capturing both the vulnerability that can accompany being a Black woman in white spaces and the resolve of an immigrant who refuses to be exploited. With methodical style and slow-burning tension, Nanny offers something more lasting than easy jump scares — it's a plunge into psychological horror from a bold new filmmaking voice. — E.A.

18. Fire of Love

Talk about your fiery love stories. The award-winning documentary Fire of Love profiles married volcanologists Katia and Maurice Krafft, who criss-crossed the globe from one hot spot to another until their untimely deaths during Japan's Mount Unzen eruption in 1991. Director Sara Dosa was granted full access to their archive, and unearths some of the most spectacular volcano footage ever to play on the big (or small) screen. But the beating heart of the movie is the lifelong partnership between the Kraffts, who lived — and died — their way. — E.A.

17. Hustle

Hustle combines two of Adam Sandler's favorite things: sports, and continually proving to the world that he's one of the best actors in the whole damn industry. Three years after delivering a career-best performance in the cinematic anxiety attack Uncut Gems (a performance apparently no one at the Academy saw), Sandler shines again as a scout for the Philadelphia 76ers who bets his livelihood on a diamond-in-the-rough prospect (Juancho Hernangomez) he discovers on the streets of Spain (there he is betting again). And it's funny, it's touching, it's exhilarating. Hollywood has proven it's not that difficult to make a good sports movie. But we weren't expecting this one to be so great. — K.P.

16. The Unbearable Weight of Massive Talent

Nicolas Cage got a lot of attention, and rightfully so, for his stellar (if not reaching) performance as, well, Nic Cage in April's unbearably great The Unbearable Weight of Massive Talent. It's one of the national treasure's best performances since we got double the Cage in Adaptation. But let it also be known that Weight is also one of the best bromantic comedies to come from Hollywood in years thanks to the deliriously fun chemistry between Cage and co-star Pedro Pascal. Everyone around them wants chaos; they just want to bro out and watch Paddington 2. — K.P.

15. Avatar: The Way of Water

This is the way… that James Cameron returns to Pandora andthe top of the box office charts. The boundary-pushing filmmaker waited 13 years to release his follow-up to the 2009 global blockbuster, and the next-level visuals featured in The Way of Water proves that his army of tech wizards weren't sitting around twiddling their thumbs. An enjoyable — if long — adventure on its own terms, the sequel also effectively lays the foundation for the next phase of the Avatar franchise, which Cameron promises "goes nuts." As a certain cyborg once said — we'll be back. — E.A.

14. Nope

Jordan Peele making an eerie homage to Steven Spielberg? Yes, please. Keke Palmer and Daniel Kaluuya give impressive performances as siblings who run their family's animal wrangling business, while Steve Yeun plays a former child star who's the sole survivor of a horrific on-set incident and Brandon Perea amuses as a tech operator. If you haven't seen Nope yet, that's really all you should know going into it. It's fitting that Peele tried his hand at producing a Twilight Zone reboot, because Nope feels like the most cinematic, visually stunning Twilight Zone story ever told. — R.S.

13. Women Talking

Adapting Mariam Towes's acclaimed 2018 novel, writer-director Sarah Polley retains the basic setting and narrative: a religious community where the female population (played by Rooney Mara and Jessie Buckley, among others) is seeking to leave after enduring a series of attacks committed by the men in their midst. At the same time, she also expands the book’s intimate canvas into a deeply moving parable for what one generation of women owes to another. Trust us: You'll never hear "Daydream Believer" the same way again after Polley's epic needle drop. — E.A.

12. All the Beauty and the Bloodshed

Before she very nearly became a statistic in the opioid epidemic, celebrated photographer Nan Goldin saw numerous family members and close friends die before their time. Laura Poitras's remarkable nonfiction portrait connects Goldin's personal history with her present-day activism, spearheading a campaign to hold the Sackler family accountable for their role in unleashing Oxycontin on the world. Even as her efforts succeed, Poitras reminds us in a devastating finale that full justice for the wealthy and powerful can remain elusive. — E.A.

11. The Menu

We'll have what Ralph Fiennes and Anya Taylor-Joy are having. The former Voldemort and future Furiosa head up a sterling ensemble cast in Mark Mylod's pitch-dark "eat the rich" comedy, set in the world of high art Haute cuisine. As Fiennes gleefully chews the scenery as a Jim Jones-esque chef, Taylor-Joy grounds the proceedings with grace notes of spiky defiance and winking humor. Already an under-the-radar theatrical hit, The Menu will re-heat well as a streaming-era staple. — E.A.

ADVERTISEMENT

10. Black Panther: Wakanda Forever

Director-writer Ryan Coogler had the unenviable task of making a sequel to global phenomenon and Oscar Best Picture nominee Black Panther in the absence of Chadwick Boseman, who portrayed the titular hero before passing away from cancer in Aug. 2020 at the age of 43. Packed with stellar performances led by Letitia Wright (Shuri), Angela Bassett (Queen Ramonda) — both reckoning with grief and loss in the aftermath of T'Challa's death — and newcomer Tenoch Huerta (Namor, the mutant god-like leader of underwater city Talokan), Coogler succeeds with the emotionally rich, visually stunning and action-packed Wakanda Forever. The sequel's greatest strength lies in how it deals with the passing of T'Challa head-on, never shying away from the sadness of a life cut short too soon. The carefully-woven narrative manages to honor the legacy of Boseman without sacrificing its superhero thrills and still pushing the beloved franchise forward. Wakanda Forever is certainly the best of the MCU's Phase 4, a film that managed to exceed unprecedented expectations. — C.N.

9. Descendant

In exploring the discovery of the sunken Clotilda, the last known slave ship to arrive in the U.S. (more than half a century after the trafficking and sale of human bodies was outlawed) in Alabama's Mobile River, documentarian Margaret Brown also turns the lenses on the people of Africatown, known descendants of the enslaved people on that ship, in this phenomenally illuminating and profound history lesson. In turn Descendant makes one of the most striking arguments for reparations ever put on film, the people of the reeling, polluted Africatown still being victimized by the same wealth and racial power structure today that existed in the 19th century. The argument "but that was hundreds of years ago" simply doesn't cut it here. —K.P.

8. Weird: The Al Yankovic Story

It took Stanley Kubrick and company 400 days to shoot the master filmmaker's final movie, Eyes Wide Shut, which he called his "greatest contribution to the art of cinema." It took Eric Appel and company only 18 days to film this actual masterpiece, and I call it that with only the slightest hint of hyperbole. Of course, a Weird Al "biopic" is complete farce, somewhere around three percent true, according to Appel. Yankovic is one of our greatest satirists of all time. And Daniel Radcliffe and Evan Rachel Wood are Oscar-worthy (again, only slight hyperbole) as Weird Al and his "girlfriend" Madonna. Between Spinal Tap, Walk Hard, Popstar and now Weird, here's hoping Hollywood never stops making fake music biopics. — K.P.

7. Tár

Todd Field's penetrating drama isn't technically a documentary… but don't be alarmed if you come out of the film believing Lydia Tár is a real person. That's how deeply Cate Blanchett burrows into the role of the titular conductor, who experiences an epic fall from grace over the movie’s expansive two-and-a-half-hour runtime. Directed with pinpoint precision by Field, Tár is one of the most intensely insular movies ever made, with audiences invited inside of Lydia's increasingly troubled mind as she goes from celebrated to canceled. It's a ride that might be too intense for some, but if you're on the movie's peculiar wavelength, it's a symphony of greatness. — E.A.

6. Top Gun: Maverick

It's a tall task to produce a sequel to any movie as ingrained in our culture as 1986's Top Gun — the motorcycle ride to "Take My Breath Away," swooping fighter jets, that volleyball game and the bar scene with pilots serenading their instructor — let alone 36 years later. But somehow director Joseph Kosinski, returning star Tom Cruise and company did it. They forged an action movie entirely fit for 2022, with just enough nostalgia sprinkled in to make fans of the original cheer. No wonder it was also a big-time winner at the box office, becoming the fifth highest grossing movie of all time. — R.S.

5. Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery

Rian Johnson has done it again. It would've been damn near impossible to top the writer-director's brilliant 2019 whodunit Knives Out with this highly anticipated follow-up. But the fact that he comes even close is a triumph in itself. Glass Onion is just as star-studded (an Elon Musk-like Edward Norton! Janelle Monáe! Kate Hudson! Daniel Craig again, of course!) and again takes some mercilessly hilarious stabs at the rich and the right, but it's also a far showier affair, leaving New England for a private Greek island overflowing with tech gadgetry. Most impressively, though, is how Johnson once again crafts an impossibly meticulous murder mystery that's ridiculous fun lies in peeling off its layers — and maybe crying some with laughter, too. — K.P.

4. The Fabelmans

In the wake of Avatar 2 premiering, there's been a lot of talk about "betting against James Cameron." Namely that you should never do it. What about Steven Spielberg? Was there ever any doubt that his most personal story yet, the heavily autobiographical Fabelmans, would also be one of the best films he's ever made? It’s fascinating watching his cinematic alter-ego, Sammy Fabelman (Gabriel LaBelle) fall in love with filmmaking, sure, but the deep emotional resonance of Spielberg's self-told biopic comes with the heartfelt revelations he makes concerning the demise of his parents' (Michelle Williams and Paul Dano, both stellar) marriage. Plus that final scene (and surprise cameo) is an absolute banger. — K.P.

3. The Woman King

Move over Maximus, and back to the rack with you, William Wallace. Viola Davis looks Gladiator and Braveheart right in the eye and says, "Hold my sword." The dramatic powerhouse-turned-action star headlines Gina Prince-Bythewood's rousing period epic, which elevates history into myth — much like the films the director is clearly inspired by. Set in 19th century Africa, it deals directly with the continent's brutal legacy of slavery in the context of a dramatic story about mothers and daughters. And did we mention the action? Prince-Bythewood stages multiple battle sequences that'll leave you rattled and rolled. — E.A.

2. The Banshees of Inisherin

British-Irish writer-director Martin McDonagh has made a lot of fans over the years with sometimes violent, darkly comedic crime fables like In Bruges (2008) and Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri (2017). Banshees, however, is the most glorious thing he's done yet. McDonagh loses the crime element, mostly — unless suddenly deciding you no longer like your best friend and drinking buddy is a crime (and it should be), as is the case with the stubborn Colm (Brendan Gleeson) and poor Pádraic (Colin Farrell). This delightful, hilarious, moving and just-bloody-enough gem features Farrell's best performance to date and infectious "fecking" Irish dialogue as memorably distinct as Fargo's Midwestern quips. One of the few movies from 2022 we'd watch over and over. — K.P.

1. Everything Everywhere All at Once

The best superhero movie of the 2022 also happens to be the best film of the year. But in a twist, this feature wasn't churned out by the Marvel machine or the DC crew; and instead of a Hollywood Chris, it was fronted by an unlikely, middle-aged duo of Michelle Yeoh and former Goonie Ke Huy Quan. Everything Everywhere All at Once is a heart-rending dysfunctional-family dramedy disguised in trippy, action-packed multiverse mayhem, at turns breathtaking and mind-boggling. A rewarding watch, no matter which universe you’re from. — M.E.

And the five worst…

5. Don’t Make Me Go

A bittersweet father-daughter road trip dramedy starring John Cho, whom we agree should be starring in pretty much everything? We were prepared to love the stuffing out of Don't Make Me Go, which follows a terminally ill single father who drives his daughter across the country to meet the mother who abandoned her. Most of the movie itself is fine — never that funny, never that heavy, never that memorable. But its god-awful ending is one of the worst, most manipulative climaxes we've seen since Robert Pattinson died on 9/11 in Remember Me. We won't spoil it here, but please don't let anyone make you go and find out. — K.P.

4. Hotel Transylvania: Transformania

You'd think losing one of its main stars, especially when that star is Adam Sandler, would contribute to the fourth installment of Hotel Transylvania being a total yawn. But to his credit, Brian Hull fills in dutifully for The Sandman (who must've really known considering he passed up that sweet, relatively easy animated franchise money) as Drac. Beyond finally revealing what The Invisible Man looks like (grasping at straws here), the plodding, very sporadically entertaining Transformania offers nothing new. Critic Christy Lemire said it best, though: "There's no reason for this movie to exist." —K.P.

3. Deep Water

Once upon a time, a sex-drenched, star-powered drama overseen by Adrian 9 1/2 Weeks Lyne would have gotten moviegoers all hot and bothered. Sadly, not even the prospect of seeing real-life exes Ben Affleck and Ana de Armas get it on onscreen could put a pulse into Lyne's first film in 20 years. To be fair, this adaptation of a Patricia Highsmith novel feels like it was heavily re-edited after the fact to omit the salaciousness that runs underneath the director's signature works in favor of a more somber tone. Fatal Attraction? More like, Fatally Boring. — E.A.

2. Moonfall

In a generously candid Director’s Reel interview, Roland Emmerich (Independence Day, The Day After Tomorrow, 2012, etc.) admitted he's never been very fond of the "master of disaster" nickname he's been bestowed. And yet he keeps making them. Unfortunately, Moonfall might be his most disastrous release yet, an epic box office bomb that can't even make its absurdly ridiculous B-movie premise (yep, the moon is actually falling, which spells certain doom for Earth!) remotely watchable. — K.P.

1. Morbius

Despite Jared Leto's best efforts, Morbin' time was over before it even began. After extended COVID-related delays, Sony's Spider-Man spinoff about Marvel's vampish anti-hero finally arrived in theaters where it promptly withered like a bloodsucker who went too long between feedings. And while Morbius acquired a temporary second life as an internet meme, that didn't translate into ticket sales. Sony is still forging ahead with plans for a live action Spider-Verse with the upcoming Kraven the Hunter and Madame Web films, plus another Venom sequel. But Leto's living vampire seems DOA for now. — E.A.

Sent from my iPhone

[scots-gallivanter]

TWENTY

I’ll sing of a river I’m happy beside

The song that I sing is a song of the Clyde

Of all Scottish rivers, it’s dearest to me

It flows from Leadhills all the way to the sea

KENNETH MCKELLAR, The Song of the Clyde

SCOTLAND HAS SOME mesmerising scenery, most famously in the Highlands and Islands: panoramas that move something inside you. It’s a feather in the cap of the Firth of Clyde, therefore, that in 2022 Glasgow to Largs was the only Scottish route to feature in the UK’s top 10 most scenic bus journeys, as voted by SunLife customers. The ‘Clyde Flyer’ came third in Britain. It runs regularly through Greenock, Gourock and Wemyss Bay en route to Largs.

The views you enjoy to the north and the west, to Arran, the Cumbraes, the Cowal peninsula and the Kyles of Bute, are indeed phenomenal – alpine in grandeur. The Gazetteer of Scotland (1847) declared: ‘No parish in the west of Scotland, and few in the Highlands, can surpass Largs in the beauty and romance of the landscape which stretches along its own area, or is hung out within view of both its uplands and its plains.’

In his 2013 guidebook, Gourock to Largs Coast Through Time, Bill Clark writes: ‘…the distance from Gourock’s eastern boundary at Cardwell Bay to the ‘Pencil’ memorial just south of Largs, is a mere 16 miles. The road that tracks the land’s edge between these two points, however, allows the traveller to experience one of the finest scenic journeys in the land.’ (The Pencil monument was erected in 1912 to commemorate the Battle of Largs in 1263, in which Scotland repelled a Viking invasion.).

These sublime views, of course, are what discerning daytrippers have always seen as they sail ‘doon the watter’, that age-old practice of travelling to Rothesay, Dunoon, Millport, Largs, Girvan, Saltcoats and other coastal resorts during Glasgow Fair holidays. Following the coronavirus pandemic, marketeers have americanised such trips around the Clyde coast as ‘staycations’.

Largs once hosted a huge annual horse and cattle sale to celebrate St Colm; and it attracted thousands of farmers and crofters from all over Scotland. There was no pier, only a jetty for landing passengers. The beasts were thrown overboard to sink or swim ashore. Travel writer John Lettice observed that the fair continued for several days. The vast concourse of people, who flocked there on foot, on horseback, in carriages, and in boats, almost covered the plain next to the sea:

‘All was movement, animation, clamour and din; and to have regarded this motley, and tumultuous scene in undisturbed quiet, from some of the neighbouring heights, must have been highly gratifying to a curious, or contemplative mind.’

As campsites were few and far between in the Largs area we pitched tent next to a busy flyover, near the shore and next to a couple of campervans from which Bon Jovi competed with The Carpenters into the small hours. In the morning a woman out walking her two Snautzers apologised for waking us up but we were already up with the larks. We were unable to use the toilets at the yachting club 50 yards off as a special code was required to access them and their undoubtedly hot showers.

TWENTY-ONE

The coast at this place, as it is with a few exceptions along the whole course of the Frith, is bounded at a short distance back from the shore with a range of hills, sometimes rising in gentle slopes, and at other times in abrupt rocky precipices, from which is to be had a continued succession of beautiful and varied views.

JOHN LEIGHTON, Select Views on the River Clyde (1830)

THE CLYDE Flier bus takes us past sheer sandstone rocks, honed and honeycombed on their well-wooded heights, out of whose crevices gnarled trees thrive. On the other side are the fairytale landscapes of the firth. We alight from the bus for the boat to Bute in an architectural theme park. With its Georgian-style timber frontage, its Chinese pagodas, and turrets; its Queen-Anne-style Italianate clock tower, and its soothing curved design, Wemyss Bay railway station is a glorious A-listed building. It has a pleasing feel, thanks to a group of volunteers who rescued it from dereliction. Now a vibrant place with a colourful community garden, book shop, museum, and multiple hanging baskets, this miracle of glass and metal architecture and engineering won the World Cup of Stations cup in 2023. It is a masterpiece from the golden age of rail, with a rare curving walkway that takes you down along a winding wood and glass ‘tunnel’ to the old steamboat terminal.

You get the notion that Wemyss Bay folk are rightly very proud of their station, but there are several other architectural wonders in the area that have not been so lucky. Beneath one of the picturesque precipices stood Ferncliff, a splendid villa built in 1851 that, along with the similar homes of very wealthy businessmen, earned Wemyss Bay the nickname New Glasgow. It was the home of the Danish consul in the 1870s and, in its heyday, was called Seaside Heights. It became the Rothmar Hotel in 1924; a convalescent home for miners in the 1940s; and a ‘Christian guest house and conference centre’, a Baptist church and then an evangelical centre from the 1970s until the 1990s. One of its rooms was known as ‘The Prime Minister’s Room’ after Clement Attlee stayed there. It was demolished in 2001 to make way for flats.

Kelly House was another country house not far from the station. Enriched by the slave trade in the West Indies, John Wallace, a distant relative of William Wallace, bought the ‘Kelly Estate’ in 1792, and built a gothic mansion with tall chimneys, ornate turrets and sprawling landscaped gardens. An earlier building, Kelly Castle, had burned to the ground in 1740.

Wallace’s son and heir, Robert, who became MP for Greenock, had ambitious plans for a marine village containing 200 luxury villas; a hotel, a school; three churches, terraced walks with a fountain and grass promenade; a harbour and quay for steamboats; a curling pond, a bowling green; heated baths, and a reading room and billiards room. However, he went bankrupt after slavery was abolished. In 1871 the estate came into the hands of James Young, the inventor of paraffin. Young was a friend of David Livingstone, the explorer, and he built a replica of his African mud hut in the grounds. It is long gone.

The house, revamped in the 1880s after Young’s death, was destroyed by arson in 1913 and the site was cleared during the war, when the Forces moved to the area to train for the invasion of Sicily. There is speculation the fire was the work of suffragettes unhappy with the house’s association with the slave trade, but no culprit was ever charged. It is now the site of a caravan park.

Castle Wemyss was the village’s pride and joy, a fascinating place with rare sea views, built by developer Charles Wilsone Broun in 1850. He also built 32 villas nearby, only one of which (Mansfield) remains.

The Cunard tycoon, Sir John Burns, later Baron Inverclyde, bought Castle Wemyss in 1860. It had a badminton court, a pier, greenhouses, Roman baths, and a monk’s cell. It was of great historical value as a fashionable destination for V.I.P.s, among them Henry Morton Stanley, U.S. General Sherman, Lord Shaftesbury, Anthony Trollope, Peter II of Yugoslavia, Emperor Haile Selassie, and various members of the royal family.

Trollope wrote some of his novel Barchester Towers during one of his stays, and it inspired him to write of Portray Castle in his book The Eustace Diamonds.

The fourth and last baron was renowned for his parties, some of which according to local gossip, included midnight ‘skinny dipping’. He was briefly married to a daughter of the millionaire owner of the Sainsbury chain. Alas, however, wealth would appear to be transitory. He died in 1957, childless; and his heirs couldn’t afford to maintain the estate. His title came to an end. The estate went to a developer, and Inverkip Power Station was built on part of the grounds. The castle itself crumbled, and the roof was ripped off to avoid housing rates. It was bulldozed in 1984, and a housing estate was built on the site. A flight of steps and a flagpole are all that remains of a priceless and elegant mansion, and gardens likened (in a biography of George Burns) to the Babylonian gardens of Nebuchadnezzar. The powers that were even removed an age-old monkey puzzle tree that stood at the entrance to the drive (‘for safety reasons’).

I had a look in Wemyss Bay station bookshop for anything by a writer who spent her last years in nearby Skelmorlie, and who set almost half of her many children’s books along the Clyde coast. Dorita Fairlie Bruce’s work was incredibly popular from the 1920s to the 1940s. In her Springdale series she renamed Ayrshire, Brigshire, and called Largs, Redchurch.

I pick up a copy of The Ragged Trousered Philanthropists instead, bringing my tally to four of them; I have a peculiar habit of giving them away.

I walk around the station waiting for the next boat and come across the bronze statue of a boy. There’s a far-fetched story that Wemyss Bay was named after an 18th-century boatman called Bobby Wemyss. It seems unlikely but it didn’t stop marketing folk calling the statue Bobby. It stands in the station for the world to see – without the mask that was placed on its face during COVID.

 

[wwyachtsman]

1998 Viking 60 - cockpit sports yacht, twin MTU 1150HP (12V183TE93), ZF gears, 1515 hours, 3 stateroom, 3 heads, full beam master, Sharp, vacuum, Corian, bow thruster, bow davit crane w/ 12' Zodiac 25hp, deck

box, helm AC, washer dryer, new carpet throughout, JVC, new bedding, new dinette upholstery, Subzero, Simrad,new granite sink and countertops, KVH TV, new aft deck refrigerator, Nav Net, new aft deck lounge, Ritchie, aft deck TV, aft deck AC, newer Garmin 7612 GPS plotter w/video camera, Sony, plasteak, forward doors port & starboard, 25hp Zodiac, cablemaster, oil changer, engine heaters, fire system, walkways approx 20, Marquipt, 1790 hour 20kw gennie, Hynautic, tabs, watermarker, Fortress, 15.5 degree deadrise, located on Lake Erie, Ohio USA, many upgrades! Ted $399,000 lakeandbayyachtsales@gmail.com

[look-sharp-notes]

#Art #Painting #Sail #Yachting #ocean #sea #yacht #Antarctica #Spirit of wandering #Journey #Discovery #Expedition #Impressions #Gallery In #Skipper #Helm #Navigation #spirations #elegant notes #look sharp #old school #map #compass #course #navigator #Drakar #Vikings