NINE BOATS - NINE LIVES by George Payne
Here is a book for all those with an adventurous spirit, whether sailors or not.
Beginning with brief details of the author’s struggles during the 1914-45 era between two World Wars, the book moves on to
the time when George Payne is
able to pursue his life in a more unfettered way. Nearing middle age he starts sailing a small ‘cartop’ dinghy and this experience becomes the first in a new life devoted to boats and
boat building.
His adventures really begin when he takes a job in Guyana in South America and
builds a new, faster dinghy for local races and to sail far inland through the
equatorial forest. An exciting jungle expedition takes him to the rarely
visited Kaieteur Falls, several times higher than Niagara.
Returning home, he buys a pocket cruiser to cruise in the treacherous Bristol
Channel and then, emboldened by success, he builds an ocean-going catamaran he
calls
Raka.
Soon after retirement he remarries to Joyce, another keen sailor, and together
their cruising plans become more ambitious. However, following the trauma of a
particularly horrendous Atlantic storm they decide to sell
Raka. This sets them again on their way to the Azores to deliver Raka to Greece, which is an amazing trip that becomes the prelude to more sailing and
canal boats, more exotic places, and more contrasting life-styles.
The author’s enthusiasm is always to the fore, with many amusing incidents and even helpful
hints for those who themselves set sail. But both George and his wife Joyce
are, above all, an inspiration to all readers that life should be lived to the
full.
George Payne
The author was born in Hampstead, London in 1914. Following his early years as
detailed in this book, he spent six years instructing in the RAF. After this he
became Senior Lecturer in Aircraft Structures at Hatfield Technical College
(now university), Principal of the Government Technical Institute in Guyana and
finally, Principal of Bridgwater Technical College, Somerset.
As readers will soon appreciate, throughout much of his working life George
Payne became an avid sailor and this continued long after his retirement.
His sailing experiences encouraged him to write various articles for local yacht
club newsletters and magazines. It is from these early beginnings that the idea
of writing this book formed and came to fruition.
From his home in Devon the author still has a great interest in sailing and everything connected with boats.
