London Goes to Sea: Restoring and Sailing an Old Boat on a Budget (Paperback)

by Peter J. Baumgartner (Author) "We roll into the marina parking lot late in the morning with sailing gear stacked high in the back of the station wagon..." (more)
Key Phrases: sensible cruising, knot meter, cruising sailboat, Cape Dory, Buzzards Bay, New Bedford (more...)

Editorial Reviews

Review
In telling his story, Peter Baumgartner speaks for many sailors. There is no major drama no sinkings, world-circling voyages, or perfect storms. Nevertheless there is minor drama aplenty as the boat goes adrift or is grounded or the engine fails...
Peter has accomplished what only a small fraction of sailors take on: he has brought an older, neglected sailboat back from an eventual death. Peter invested mechanical talent and elbow grease. His reward was an affordable, beautiful, and fully functional cruising sailboat. His achievements and those of others should be celebrated.
It is in recording and celebrating this accomplishment that Peter speaks for other sailors. They considered their achievements to be inconsequential. Peter celebrated his by writing a book about his boat and her restoration. And once she was floating, Peter celebrated the pleasure which comes from living simply while cruising in a sailboat. He enjoys leaving land-based stresses behind and reminds others of the reasons for investing time and talent in an older boat. In doing so, he encourages those who would do likewise to find and fix a fixer-upper sailboat.
Because he writes beautifully, shares his personal insights, and is so remarkably self-aware, Peter Baumgartner takes his readers with him on a voyage of boat ownership and the fulfillment of a dream. It is a tale well told. --Karen Larson, editor of Good Old Boat

Many cruising sailors will be able to identify with the events related here. The author rescued a 27ft. Cape Dory sloop, restored and rerigged it over four years and renamed it London. Log entries from generally unremarkable cruises are expanded to provide the sailing narrative of vacation trips in New England waters. He candidly relates his mistakes and how he extricated himself from a grounding at night, air leaks into his fuel injector and frozen seacocks.

With Thoreau-like enthusiasm for natural solitude and quiet anchorages, the author shares his delight in simple cruising, and his ingenuity in maintaining his 20-year-old boat on a modest budget. --Cruising, Winter 2004

Peter Baumgartner calls LONDON Goes to Sea a book of mistakes. The 224-page book (Sheridan House, March, 2004, $19.95) recounts Baumgartner's efforts to restore a 1977 Cape Dory 27 named LONDON. It chronicles his triumphs and misadventures in making LONDON seaworthy again, then sailing her in the waters of New England. LONDON's cruising grounds ranged from Block Island, R.I., to Mount Desert Island, Maine.
Rather than a how-to tome, Baumgartner has written a narrative that contains practical advice. His experiences over the four years spanned in the book are recounted, from his near miss with a cruise ship off Cape Cod to details on the life cycle of a jellyfish. --Soundings, June 2004

Product Description
LONDON Goes to Sea is Peter J. Baumgartner's candid and captivating account of restoring an aging fiberglass sailboat over the course of four years and then reintroducing it to its native New England waters. Baumgartner's precise records illustrate every trial and triumph of the restoration process, and his careful attention to errors made along the way provides crucial insight for anyone considering a similar project.

Baumgartner's writing combines the best elements of a brisk, entertaining narrative and a thoroughly practical handbook, making for a truly unique story that embraces every experience of the coastal sailor. Whether refining a new nautical skill, learning about the life cycle of a jellyfish, or narrowly avoiding a collision with a cruise ship off Cape Cod, Baumgartner's unflagging joy and enthusiasm for his old Cape Dory shine through on every page.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 224 pages
• Publisher: Sheridan House (April 1, 2004)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1574091751
• ISBN-13: 978-1574091755
• Product Dimensions: 8.9 x 5.9 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 12.8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #320,049 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Want to experience coastal sailing and boat ownership?, June 28, 2004

By	Mark Babbitt (New England, USA) - See all my reviews

Then read this book, a practical, thoughtful, honest, and gently humorous guide to the real pleasures and challenges of finding, sailing, and caring for your boat, as well as the delicate balance of man, nature, work, dreams, boat maintenance, friendship, marriage and family.
It's not just a how to book, but a well-written and wonderful reflection by an active and skilled sailor that explores restoration details, costs, safety, mishaps and joys on the water, with a fine, candid, and thoughtful eye.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars It's like being there, June 26, 2006

By	Chris Casey (Winthrop, WA USA) - See all my reviews

I could not help myself by buying this book and it did not disappoint. This was a fun, albeit short read, that helped me live somewhat vicariously through Mr Baumgartner during his travails of restoration and the joys of sailing the East Coast. I was a little sad that there was not more on the actual restoration given the title- it was more about the experience. It just left me cruising E-Bay 'Sailboats 20-27 feet'.... it's that kind of book.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars in love with the process, May 30, 2006

By	Jac (New Jersey) - See all my reviews

I'm not a sailor but this book (a gift) has charmed me. Somehow, the boat, the man, his family, his tribulations and the art of navigation are so artfully described that I have become enamoured of all of the above! Anyone who has ever been seasick or obsessed with completing a project will find themselves turning pages here. . .