She found to her annoyance that they were all books about sailing.

For the author, writing about sailing seems a form of therapy as well.

He became friends with the two poets, and helped teach them about sailing.

But more important, it gives neophytes a reason to learn about sailing.

"Both of you know more about sailing than I do."

I know some people with four languages, others who are passionate about sailing.

It certainly did seem that they had come to the right place to learn about sailing.

If you already know something about sailing, you'll probably have a good if cold time.

"We'd never had a reasonable holiday in our working lives and we just wanted to do something that was all about sailing," Larry said.

"The great thing about sailing is that it's something I can do into my old days."