Tilman

[Constance]

Surely required reading. Discovered 'Mischief in Greenland' at the age of 12 or so, and was hooked, Now have the 8-tale omnibus volume. To some extent, it must be admitted, read one, you've read 'em all, but his modest style, dry humour, and a resourcefulness bred by mountains and war get a hold on you. I spent my honeymoon in Iceland in 1970 and believe I was in Reykjavik unwittingly when he was there en route to Greenland again, an opportunity sadly missed, although my wife may not agree. He was hailed by someone on the quay there with 'Following in Tilman's footsteps I suppose!'...He has been criticised for (inter alia) losing old pilot cutters, but since his boats had already exceeded their intended life expectancy by a factor of 3 or 4 I don't hold that against him. His 'Baroque' is still around and in commission.

 

[Mirelle]

It is better that "Mischief" is commemorated in the names of two mountains and a cape, than that she should be extant and "preserved".

One of the 20th century's greatest travel writers, imho.

Incidentally, he did not think much of "Baroque"; he said that she was narrow gutted (13ft 6ins beam) and would not stand up to her canvas like the other two, which were both a foot wider. Certainly she was infernally slow.

 

[jhr]

... obviously shrunk his boats (all that water!) and then lost them. One ended up here:

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