Shrimpy sails again !!

[chinita]

Also, you will devalue the paper copies out there. I think I paid about £35 for mine!Carl

I don't think that proper books will ever be devalued by the existence of pdf format.

For me, there are few pleasures better than sitting below, on my old wooden boat, with a glass of Laphroaig, reading a classic sailing book by the light of the oil lamps whilst the wind howls outside!

 

[Chrusty 1]

+1

 

[Blueboatman]

+2. That be tonight then!

 

[sailorman]

Someone in a previous post had mentioned the estate of Shane Acton was still active.

Is the 2nd book not still under some sort of copyright?

Also, you will devalue the paper copies out there. I think I paid about £35 for mine!

Regards

Carl

Shane`s 2 sisters now benefit from his estate, though income is very low these days one of them told me

 

[chinita]

+2. That be tonight then!

I wish!

 

[lenseman]

Oiy!! Don't tell everyone, they will all want to do it!

 

[carl170]

Shane`s 2 sisters now benefit from his estate, though income is very low these days one of them told me

I'm not surprised income is low - there is no product!

Can you suggest to them that it is about time they looked at a reprint of both titles? Perhaps revised with a few extra photo's would be good, and what Iris is up to these days? I beleive Sandie Watts died the year before Shane.

Regards

Carl

 

[Even Chance]

Just finished reading the first book. Its now given me more inspiration to read his second book.
The man took on something that many of us can only dream of, and in a much smaller boat!
My hats off to the guy anyway.....

 

[Gelmaster]

Hi Gelmaster
This thread goes on for 6 pages, but, has anybody given you what you asked for in the first place?
I have read Shrimpy Sails Again I borrowed it from the library, my local one did not have it, but they got it in from another library for me.
PM me if you are still looking for a copy, I will see if I can help I do not have a PDF, but I did scan the book prior to returning it, but it is rather a large file, and I have not checked it as it was only for my personal use if I wanted to re read it.

Hello there, what a great thread Shane has made here.
He was obviously & unintentionally an extremely controversial guy.

I will check with my local library, thank you !

 

[chinita]

I'm not surprised income is low - there is no product!

Can you suggest to them that it is about time they looked at a reprint of both titles? Perhaps revised with a few extra photo's would be goodl

Perhaps they are not in a financial position so to do.

I am no great fan of the man, or of his books. However, there is clearly a strong core of supporters. I wonder if there is anyone out there who know how, or someone who knows someone who knows how, these books may be re-printed and marketed.

As I said, I am not particularly interested (I would not have the first clue how to start anyway) but I do think it would be a sadness if an individual, who obviously inspires many, sinks without trace as the few remaining copies of his books join the great library in the sky.

 

[AntarcticPilot]

Perhaps they are not in a financial position so to do.

I am no great fan of the man, or of his books. However, there is clearly a strong core of supporters. I wonder if there is anyone out there who know how, or someone who knows someone who knows how, these books may be re-printed and marketed.

As I said, I am not particularly interested (I would not have the first clue how to start anyway) but I do think it would be a sadness if an individual, who obviously inspires many, sinks without trace as the few remaining copies of his books join the great library in the sky.

It's not particularly difficult to self-publish a book - if they have the text in an electronic format, then any number of printers would be able to print it for them. Of course, the ideal would be for the original publishers to reprint it - all this depends on the nature of the original publishing agreement. They may not be allowed to print it independently; it may be that the rights belong to a publishing house with royalties from sales going to the family. In which case, they won't reprint it if they don't think it would sell a LOT of copies.

 

[Kelpie]

It's not particularly difficult to self-publish a book - if they have the text in an electronic format, then any number of printers would be able to print it for them. Of course, the ideal would be for the original publishers to reprint it - all this depends on the nature of the original publishing agreement. They may not be allowed to print it independently; it may be that the rights belong to a publishing house with royalties from sales going to the family. In which case, they won't reprint it if they don't think it would sell a LOT of copies.

Wonder if the publisher would be persuaded to bring out a Kindle version?

 

[AntarcticPilot]

Wonder if the publisher would be persuaded to bring out a Kindle version?

That is easy enough IF an electronic version already exists. Given that the book was published in 1981, I am afraid the existence of an electronic version is unlikely. That means that someone would have to go to the effort of scanning every page and then passing it through an OCR program, followed by extensive proof reading and correction.

Snags:

1. The book is certainly in copyright, so doing this will require permission from the copyright holders, which may or may not be Shane Acton's estate, depending on the nature of publishing agreements.
2. The task of converting typescript to electronic format is non-trivial, time-consuming and error-prone.
3. While there is great enthusiasm for these books in a specialized forum like this, the world market is unlikely to be sufficient to pay for the conversion.

The only way I can see this happening would be for a consortium of enthusiasts to take the job on, gain permission from the copyright holders (whoever they may be) and then allocate (say) a chapter per person. That would get the job done!

 

[maby]

That is easy enough IF an electronic version already exists. Given that the book was published in 1981, I am afraid the existence of an electronic version is unlikely. That means that someone would have to go to the effort of scanning every page and then passing it through an OCR program, followed by extensive proof reading and correction.

Snags:

1. The book is certainly in copyright, so doing this will require permission from the copyright holders, which may or may not be Shane Acton's estate, depending on the nature of publishing agreements.
2. The task of converting typescript to electronic format is non-trivial, time-consuming and error-prone.
3. While there is great enthusiasm for these books in a specialized forum like this, the world market is unlikely to be sufficient to pay for the conversion.

The only way I can see this happening would be for a consortium of enthusiasts to take the job on, gain permission from the copyright holders (whoever they may be) and then allocate (say) a chapter per person. That would get the job done!

It is a significant job - I've done it once myself and I'm in no rush to repeat the exercise!

 

[Beauforte]

Hi Gelmaster
This thread goes on for 6 pages, but, has anybody given you what you asked for in the first place?
I have read Shrimpy Sails Again I borrowed it from the library, my local one did not have it, but they got it in from another library for me.
PM me if you are still looking for a copy, I will see if I can help I do not have a PDF, but I did scan the book prior to returning it, but it is rather a large file, and I have not checked it as it was only for my personal use if I wanted to re read it.

Hi Gart! I've tried to get hold of "Shrimpy sails again" for a long time unsuccessfully, so would very much appreciate to get a copy! Big fan of Shane Ashton. Thanks a lot and best of luck.

 

[LittleSister]

Hi Gart! I've tried to get hold of "Shrimpy sails again" for a long time unsuccessfully, so would very much appreciate to get a copy! Big fan of Shane Ashton. Thanks a lot and best of luck.

Gart hasn't checked in to the forum since 2017, but someone else might see your message and be able to help.

You could post a notice in the 'Wanted' section of these forums, but I think you might need to have made a few more (5 or so?) posts on the forum before you're allowed to post there.

 

[DownWest]

Just stumbled on this.. Shane did something that few people would consider in these days, even less then. And, you have to remember that the attitude to sailors was very diifferent back then. The help he got was from people who felt he was like them. Now, it is more like 'how much can we charge them' As clearly more wealthly than the locals..
It was a very different time. The weed accusations from contessaman (also, not a big boat) don't have any connection with the story. Wonder why he is putting them up.??

 

[LittleSister]

. . . Shane did something that few people would consider in these days, even less then.

I generally agree with you, except I think far fewer, if any, would today rather than then embark on such a voyage in the same way.

As you say, the environment for it has changed, not just the costs you mention, but also the greater reach and rigidity of bureaucracy (customs, visas, harbour restrictions, etc.), and the greater insularity of most people one comes across, but I think the mindset of today's generation is also different (as was Shane's from earlier adventurers, though I think the change since has been more radical).

Very few people would set out now without more information. (Witness the number on here, for example, asking for advice about where/how to liveaboard, or which boat to buy etc., rather than heading out, asking people face to face in a particular location, giving it a go, sucking it seeing.) Everyone(?) has become used to, and expects, accurate charts and weather information, etc. Clearly Shane Acton was adept at engaging with people face to face and getting their help and advice/info (though there are tales of people who met him and took an immediate dislike to him), and this was a key component to his success. Such skills are, I suspect rarer now then they were even at the time (and would anyway meet a generally more resistant audience). The internet and other changes have made some things much easier, but others much harder. I very much doubt many of today's adventurers would be as adept at practical repairs and construction, cooking and eating whatever food was available, or as generally as resourceful as earlier generations.

Most people now would be looking to monetise their trip from the outset - through YouTube, GoFundMe, etc. (Shane only started monetising his trip as far as I can recall, once he got to Australia, when his inherent enterprise extended into entrepreneurship, albeit at a very low level by today's standards (the shopping mall exhibitions, sponsorship of sails? and a watch?, and later writing and selling the books).

I don't knock today's adventurers (well, only up to a point ) and wish them well, but attitudes and expectations have changed fairly fundamentally, as far as I can see.

 

[Wansworth]

I generally agree with you, except I think far fewer, if any, would today rather than then embark on such a voyage in the same way.

As you say, the environment for it has changed, not just the costs you mention, but also the greater reach and rigidity of bureaucracy (customs, visas, harbour restrictions, etc.), and the greater insularity of most people, but I think the mindset of today's generation is also different (as Shane's was from earlier adventurers).

Very few people would set out now without more information. (Witness the number on here, for example, asking for advice about where/how to liveaboard, or which boat to buy etc., rather than heading out, asking people face to face in a particular location, giving it a go, sucking it seeing.) Everyone has become used to, and expects, accurate charts and weather information, etc. Clearly Shane Acton was adept at engaging with people and getting their help and advice/info (though there are tales of people who met him and took an immediate dislike to him), and this was a key component to his success. Such skills are, I suspect rarer now then they were even at the time, and would meet a more resistant audience. The internet and other changes have made some things much easier, but others much harder.

Most people now would be looking to monetise their trip from the outset - through YouTube, GoFundMe, etc. (Shane only started monetising his trip as far as I can recall, once he got to Australia, when his inherent enterprise extended into entrepreneurship, albeit at a very low level by today's standards (the shopping mall exhibitions, sponsorship of sails? and a watch?, and later writing and selling the books).

I don't knock today's adventurers (well, only up to a point ), but attitudes and expectations have changed fairly fundamentally, as far as I can see.

The baby boomers had Hiscock and Tillman and a whole world of books to create images of how the ocean was.Today it’s on film with no imagination needed.My wife cousin said he liked sailing with me as it was uncertain where we were as opposed to sailing with American friends even back in the early nineties knew were they were with gps…….

 

[LittleSister]

. . . My wife cousin said he liked sailing with me as it was uncertain where we were as opposed to sailing with American friends even back in the early nineties knew were they were with gps…….

I didn't get to where I am today by knowing where I was going!