Rick Page's Blog

Hello nautical nomads! I am afraid the site is having a bit of a hissy fit. We are working on it. In the meantime, please click the link below for an archive copy of the website.

https://web.archive.org/web/20240101122941/http://sailingcalypso.com

The archive has all content, comments, etc, but you will not be able to add new comments until we get the new site up and running.

Thanks for your patience and please feel to contact me on sailingcalypso@gmail.com

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A Question I Cannot Answer

Thanks to everyone who reviewed my new book Stay Real, Stay Gone.  It has been great to such positive feedback.  I hope it has gone some way to answering all the questions raised by the first book.

However, there  is one question that keeps coming up that I simply cannot answer, and that is this:

“Why do you never mention sailing with kids?”

I don’t have anything against the idea of sailing with kids (in fact, the nicest kids I know have been bought up on boats), it is just that I have absolutely no experience of them and I tend to keep my mouth shut about things I know nothing about (one of my better traits and one, which adopted more universally I am convinced would result in a better world for just about everybody).

So, to answer that question, I will hand you over to the experts.  The first is Behan Gifford whose book, Voyaging with Kids is the most complete and authorative publication on the subject.  Widely respected by sailors that actually like kids, it also seems to have the unmistakable ring of truth even to the dedicatedly childless like me.  Click here for more details on this and other great books.

Secondly, I would like to direct you to the charming video below which shows the Halabisky family and their 11 year circumnavigation with their two beautiful daughters who were both born on the way.  Not only is this short video beautifully shot, but it also clearly demonstrates that you do not need an enormous catamaran with a cabin for each child equipped with their own x-box.   Whether you are intending to sail with kids or not, this is one of the best sea-gypsy sailing videos I have seen and I urge you to spend 13 minutes watching it as it will really make your day.

Stay safe everybody and keep buggering on!

 

 

 

 

Both titles now available in Hardback!

“Free your mind and the rest will follow” Practical Boat Owner Magazine

The perfect Christmas gift for would-be nautical nomads or anyone who has had enough of the consumer-driven life.  Get a glimpse of how I have lived aboard three different boats and had a thousand easily-achievable adventures in beautiful, unspoilt parts of the world, sailing solo or picking up crew as I go.

Find out how, with just a small change in attitude, you can do it too – and on much less than you think. 

Order soon for Christmas delivery!  Happy Holidays and here are the links:

USA: Click here
UK: Click here
Canada: Click here
Australia: Click here
Italy: Click here
Netherlands: Click here
Germany: Click here
Spain: Click here

 

 

 

New Book Details and How to Get a Copy.

 

Many apologies for the delay, but the follow-up to Get Real, Get Gone is now live on Amazon in both ebook and paperback.  Plenty of time to order for Christmas!

This book is a bit more detailed and longer than the first one, but those who liked the first one will find it easy to follow.  There is a bit of motivational butt-kicking as well as the usual array of practical and philosophical tips to get you going if you haven’t already gone or KEEP you going if you have already left.

As always, I am available on sailingcalypso@gmail.com to answer any questions, or if you just want to to say ‘hi’ and share you plans without anyone thinking you are nuts.

(NOTE: This does not guarantee you are not nuts, only that I won’t think so).

I hope you like it!  Here are the links for the various Amazon sites

USA: Click here
UK: Click here
Canada: Click here
Australia: Click here
Italy: Click here
Netherlands: Click here
Germany: Click here
Spain: Click here

Stay safe and fair winds!

Rick

Finally… the new book is out (nearly!)

Thanks everyone for your patience – it took a lot longer than I thought, but I am delighted to say that the new book will be out next week on Amazon in the US, the UK, Canada and Australia in both ebook and paperback formats.  

This book delves more deeply into some of the subjects that were only touched upon in the first book, as well as introducing some totally new stuff – all of it designed to help you live the dream, free of the ravages of the yacht marketing industry and on a budget that is both low and entirely realistic.  I hope you like it!  

PS: I am aware that I am a little bit behind in my emails and quite a few people are waiting for replies.  I will now have a bit more time and I will get back to everyone shortly.

Until then, stay safe and carry on reading!

Musket Cove Regatta

Due to Covid restrictions, there is no Musket Cove regatta this year, so I have strung together some video from the last one where I entered the “Round the Island” race in my little sailing tender.

This is an awesome event, fantastically organised and, as this video shows, anyone can enter on just about anything…

 

The Good News and the Good News

No, it is not some Jehovah’s Witness click-bait, much worse I am afraid.  About a year ago Tantor Publishing bought the audio rights to Get Real, Get Gone and after a few delays brought on by that bloody virus, I am pleased to announce that they are finally releasing the Audiobook tomorrow (6th April 2021).  

I have yet to hear it, but they have a great reputation and I am sure they have made a really good job of it.  So if you have wanted to read the book, but just haven’t been able to find the time, get a copy of this and listen to it in the car on the way to work.

WARNING: Contains job-quitting information.

Oh, and the second bit of good news?  It is read by award winning and BAFTA nominated narrator Liam Gerrard – so you won’t have to put up with my rather annoying voice.

Stay safe everyone and keep sailing!

Rick 

 

Where the Wild Men Are:Revisited – I am back on the telly in Oz

Ben Fogle entertains Rick and the camera crew with his hilarious impression of a humpback whale

Yes, the shameless self-promotion continues tomorrow (Friday 5th March) at 8.30pm Sydney time  (7.30pm Queensland time) on BBC Earth. Australians who thought they had managed to escape my unbearable levels of self-satisfaction will be disappointed to hear that if they miss the show on Friday, they can stream it on catch up on Foxtel or Fetch TV.

In this show, British adventurer Ben Fogle catches up with me five years after the original program to see how my sea gypsy life has changed.

I have seen the British edit and thought it was an improvement on the first episode as it is more genuine. In the first show, the fundamental message (that anyone can do what I do) was somewhat glossed over and that has been rectified in this episode. There is a tour around Calypso II and some nice (if a bit rainy) footage of Fiji too.  Let me know what you think in the comments.

I was hoping to have the new book out to go with the broadcast, but that is going to take a few more weeks yet, I am afraid. I will post again when it is done.

Stay safe everyone and carry on!

Captain Rick ‘a bit fishy’ Page

How to ‘get gone’ if you are REALLY broke…

Readers of my book will know that it concerns itself with starting a new life at sea for those with big dreams, but shallower pockets.  The main point is that you don’t have to be rich to live the millionaire’s lifestyle aboard your own boat.  But you do need some money.  It may be just  a fraction of what the the  media would have us think, but some.

So what do you do if you have virtually nothing in the piggy bank and still want to explore the blue wobbly bits of our planet?

I am pleased to say that my good friend Daz Tait has been doing exactly this for a number of years and produced a trilogy of books telling his story.   Setting out with just the desire for adventure and a wallet that was emptier than a hermit’s diary, Daz went on to have amazing, real adventures all over the world.  You can buy volume one of his exploits here or by clicking on the photo and hopefully find a blueprint of how to explore under sail on a budget that would make even me blush.  One thing is for sure though…. if you read this book you will never be able to claim that it is money that is holding you back!