Four new chapters in a week is excellent progress for the lazy writer. Earlier I composed the Zombies Can’t Swim Chapter and the Tim Dorsey Chapter. Now I’ve added the Jimmy Buffett Chapter and Pirates.
I emailed Jimmy Buffett to ask him to write a chapter for this book. He didn’t dignify my request with a response. I’m sure he’s really busy though, so I’ll let him off the hook.
Jimmy has written several books himself. I particularly enjoyed A Salty Piece Of Land. The reason I thought he could contribute to Poop, Booze, and Bikinis is this; take a slow ride through any crowded anchorage and the majority of the boats will be playing a Jimmy Buffett tune.
Why Jimmy? Songs like Son of a Son of a Sailor, or A Pirate Looks at Forty, were written for the boater. They weren’t for your average weekend boater either. They were conceived with the real cruiser in mind.
I have long wondered about the fascination with pirates, especially among boaters. Again, take a look at any crowded marina or anchorage. I bet you’ll see some pirate flags.
Why is this so common? Who thinks it’s a good idea to celebrate bloodthirsty killers and thieves? After much rumination on the topic of pirates, I’ve decided that sailors and cruisers see the pirate as some romantic notion of escape. After all, we quit our jobs and live on a boat in order to make our own escape from the stresses of normal society. The pirate may have been a scoundrel, but he was a free man. The pirate may have been demonized throughout history, but also slightly admired. He has broken away from conventional culture.
I trace the origins of this pirate love affair back to 1883, when Robert Louis Stevenson coined the phrase “yo-ho-ho and a bottle of rum” in his adventurous tale Treasure Island. Then all those Errol Flynn movies in the thirties made pirates out to be chivalrous and good looking swashbucklers.
That’s twenty chapters down in the first draft. All are short and to the point on specific nautical topics. I’m trying to keep it fun and funny. It is NOT any sort of technical advice book to be taken seriously. Look for the release of Poop, Booze, and Bikinis sometime in the next few months.
You can get my first book, Leap of Faith / Quit Your Job And Live On A Boat at Amazon, in paperback or Kindle version.
CreeksideMusings 
Nice work. I think it has something to do with the romance of the pirate’s wenches as well!