July 2011
10 posts
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Lost Cities
Aoudaghost, Saharan oasis town. The water ran out. Balanjar, medieval Causica. Massacred by Arabs. Chernobyl, Russia. Nuclear disaster. Dunwich, England. Eroded away. El Dorado, lost city of gold. Never found. Farran’s Point, Canada. One of the ten Lost Villages. Gomorrah, wrath of God. Hashima Island, Japan. Tiny mining island, now a ghost island. Indianola, Texas. Hurricane. Jerusalem,...
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Trading Cities 3 by Italo Calvino
When he enters the territory of which Eutropia is the capital, the traveller sees not one city but many, of equal size and not unlike one another, scattered over avast, rolling plateau. Eutropia is not one, but all these cities together; only one is inhabited at a time, the others are empty; and this process is carried out in rotation. Now I shall tell you how. On the day when Eutropia’s...
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Thin Cities 5 by Italo Calvino
If you choose to believe me, good. Now I will tell how Octavia, the spiderweb city, is made. There is a precipice between two steep mountains: the city is over the void, bound to the two crests with ropes and chains and catwalks. You walk on the little wooden ties, careful not to set your foot in the open spaces, or you cling to the hempen strands. Below there is nothing for hundreds and...
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If the missing appear in dreams they are not dead,... →
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Types of dinghy
Whaleboats are among the classic “pulling” (rowing) boats, with a sharp bow, fine stern lines and a canoe stern. Despite being somewhat more tippy, with less cargo capacity than prams, they row, motor and sail well because of their fine lines. Prior to the introduction of fibreglass as a construction material, dories were more popular because their ease of assembly and, thereby, lower...
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Equipment that should be taken in a dinghy
life-jackets for every occupant a hand-bailer a bailing sponge a large torch/flashlight a mouth-blown horn (not a loud-hailer, but a breath-blown foghorn) signal whistle signal mirror flares
