Book Review

by Capt. Jim Cash

More Tales from a Gimbaled Wrist

By Michael L. Martel

Normally I reserve these reviews for non-fiction books about a true-to-life cruising adventure. Though Capt. Mike claims on his title page the book is a work of fiction, his collection of short stories reads more like his actual cruising experiences. I suppose he may have changed the names of some characters to protect the innocent from law enforcement, but in reading the stories it was often like de’jâ vu for me, as I’m sure it would be for anyone with some cruising experience. Mike has entertained readers in the former Lats & Atts and other venues, so if you enjoy good sea yarns these latest tales are worth your while.

I’m sorry I had not had the privilege to read the first in the twobook series, and was caught unaware of the term “Gimbaled Wrist.” Mike quoted the lyrics from the chantey Tanqueray Martini-O! by Jon Campbell from which the title came, and now it seems apropos as I imagine sailors sitting in the cockpit, sharing sea tales, and holding their drinks level as the boat heels with the gusts from a Nor’easter.

The 27 separate stories take place mostly along the New England shore with a few sojourns to Bermuda and the Caribbean. Each story is no more than a 10-15 minute read, even if you are dosing in the cockpit on a warm afternoon. Some are tender as in Men of the Sea where he tells of a young boy accompanying his grandfather on a short fishing trip. Some are funny stories as in Last Trip of the Season, where an odiferous, forgotten bait bucket mixes with a fall snow squall to highlight the afternoon delivery, and Perils of ‘Nautical Cuisine’ where Mike makes a case for Beer as the staple for every evening meal. His story about being reunited with Privateer, a previously owned 1931 vintage yawl, grabbed me personally, having just restored a 1938 Atkin yawl myself (volume 1 Cruising Outpost). What is it about old wooden boats that kindle up emotion like family? I can’t imagine my eyes welling up as I gaze upon a ‘60s vintage, cracked and faded fiberglass Coronado... but show me an old wood Herreshoff, Atkin, or Alden and I can get misty every time.

There are several stories about the late season cruise aboard Mary Rose, a 1926 Herreshoff schooner, from Rhode Island to the BVIs with a stopover in Bermuda, and his page-and-ahalf titled Church’s Beach on Cuttyhunk Island, reads like poetry. Mike even gets a chance to rant against the sometimes tiresome and antiproductive trend toward cultural diversity in Voices Among the Cellar Holes. For those of you that have done long deliveries you will relate to the emotions stirred up in First Light of Sombrero Island, and when you remember those late night watches with coffee flavored with the local libation (I call sauce) to keep the blood circulating, the yarn Coffee with a ‘Stick’ In It will bring a smile to your lips.

Mike has a fascination with Captain Joshua Slocum… My favorite story is the time the natives of Southern Chile snuck aboard the Spray one night while anchored in the Magellan Straights, only to find the Captain had scattered carpet tacks along the deck; apparently they exited quickly screaming in pain… But I digress; there are many references to the iconic tome Sailing Alone Around the World as in Mike’s stories Farewell to Captain Slocum, Autumn River Cruise on Spray, were he describes the voyage as “sailing a cement barge across a sea of molasses with a handkerchief for a sail,” and others.

The real beauty of the book for me was that almost every story reminded me of one of my own, and I guess that’s the point of a good book. It is supposed to help your mind wander, whether back to your own memories, or forward toward the future of memories yet to be made. In this case, at least for me, Capt. Mike has accomplished both.