The dull grind of life in a refugee camp is no place for an aspiring astronaut. But what if your dreams came true? Can you really learn to pilot a space ship when no one else thinks you should try?Between navigating classes, relationships, and technology there is very little time for the world outside AsCoS, but the Solar System is in flux, and a fight for resources about to begin.Join Gwen as she begins her transformation from refugee to infamous space ship captain

We bought our 22'6" Gaff cutter in 2007, and have been lavishing love, attention, and time on her ever since. When she was 75 years old, in 2012, we decided to collect together our various blog posts and edit them together to publish in book form.We sail Robinetta on the East Coast of England, in waters familiar to many people. There are tales of adventure, misadventure, and maintenance within, but we do our best to avoid high drama!Robinetta is a pocket s...

Once upon a time magical guardians would be sent to look after a royal grave, sworn to defend it against all comers and never leave, however times changed.Once upon a time there were no mobile phones, but there were traffic accidents, and dislocated families.Come and travel between worlds, where elves and humans fight for their rights to live.This is an omnibus edition of 3 now unavailable books, previously published as The Barrow Elves, The Fair Folk, and The Elven...

"On the Whale Road" records the adventures and misadventures of a small yacht sailing in Scotland over 3 seasons. Robinetta was built in 1937, designed to cruise from Liverpool to Scotland. She now boasts the modern safety features of a depth gauge, radio, and chart-plotter, but remains true to her original task, of providing a comfortable home from home for a couple who enjoy exploring the coastal waters of the British Isles. Robinetta is less than 7m on deck, but being ...

Robinetta set off on her travels again in 2021, having been laid up afloat over the COVID pandemic. This time the aim was to sail her north to her owners' new home in the Clyde. With rather more gear failures than ideal it took two sailing seasons for her to reach the Clyde from Tollesbury via a largely different set of harbours and anchorages to the ones she visited in 2014.Including the Cruising Association's Dugon Cup winning log of 2021

This is the story of a year in the life of a small old wooden gaff rigged sailing yacht. It contains details of the maintance needed to keep a 76 year old boat going, as well as what can do wrong over the course of a season, with both boat and crew. We have owned Robinetta since 2007, and this is the year when things went wrong, as we went on our most ambitious cruise to date, from the river Blackwater in Essex, round to Cowes, and back.

School's over, so now real life has to begin for everyone graduating from AsCoS. But what if you're the only one not to get drafted into the Solar Patrol? Can you really learn to pilot a fighting ship when no one else thinks you should try?As the conflict between the Alliance and the Venusians turns into all out war very few places are safe. Between Venusian assassination attempts and Terran Confederacy offers of protection in a prison where should Gwen go for refuge? And does it r...

We have owned our yacht Robinetta for 7 years, and never gone far from home, but in 2014 we decided it was time she finished going round Britain.I say finished, because after Robinetta was built at Birkenhead in 1937, she headed north, and in 1938 got to the Isle of Skye. From there she headed anticlockwise, making it to the East Coast of England in the late 1940s, where she stayed until May 2014.She is only 20''on the waterline, and we passage plan at 3 k...

Piloting the most famous Cruiser in the Alliance Patrol should be exciting.But what if its mostly boring (but sometimes terrifying) when your dreams came true?Was it really a good idea to learn to pilot a space ship when no one else thought you should try?Join Gwen as she completes her transformation from refugee to infamous space ship captain.

After relaunching Robinetta in April we took her north out of the Crinan canal, hoping to reach the Outer Hebrides. With gales every weekend, and locals agreeing that it was the worst summer they could remember, we still managed to get in some great sailing!

After a winter in Bristol Julian and Alison Cable set out to bring their elderly gaff cutter Robinetta back to the East Coast of England after five sailing seasons going round the British Isles. There were still places to explore on the way, including the Brittany coastline. That was so long as they could get their 7m long yacht across the English Channel.Inspired by the song "Spanish Ladies" they decided to head from Scilly to Ushant, then spend as much time as possible e...

Circumnavigating Ireland is hardly an unusual thing. Yachts do it every year, many of them in the Biannual Volvo Round Ireland race. In 2016 63 yachts took part in this, travelling 704 nm non-stop. The fastest (a multi-hull) got round in under 39 hours with the first monohull managing it in just over 50 hours. Rough weather meant that 15 boats retired, but all finishers were over the line inside 6 days. These are all big boats, and I am sure their crews had a good time, but racing round is...