Cruising

Baskets of Yore

 in Uncategorized  tagged Ann Shaffer / Cruising / Joan Moore / Nantucket baskets / Nantucket Lightship Baskets / Timothy D. Parsons / transatlantic / travel by

On a transatlantic cruise, an unusual crafter caught my interest.  Ann Shaffer had taken up thread basketry to keep her hands busy while traveling. Ordinarily she uses stiffer materials to make Nantucket baskets. My ears pricked at the promise salty heritage, and Nantucket baskets didn’t disappoint. As Ann wove, she told of the men who operated light ships—brightly lit ships that anchored on dangerous shoals to keep passing vessels clear. They passed the time by weaving baskets, a skill settlers had learned from Native Americans.     Over time, the lightship men developed a specific style, using a form—a salvaged […]

Snub Boat? 2

 in Travel tips  tagged cruise ship etiquette / Cruising / dolphin presentation / sophisticated travelers / travel by

I hadn’t realized what cruising has done for me until a writer friend dithered over her clothes and etiquette while attending my dolphin presentation at the local country club.  Before my first cruise I was equally stressed that all those rich, sophisticated people would look down their noses at me.  Now that I’ve spent a couple months sailing with seriously wealthy cruisers, I say “no worries Mate.”  There are always people looking for ways to feel superior, but Steve and I found that most frequent-cruisers are looking for friendly conversations rather than one-up ops.  People who are into status games must have a tough time figuring out who to snub because multi-millionaires generally dress and act the way they want to.  A […]