Tiller and the Pen: A Collection of Sailors' Stories

Sailing imitates life, and these stories examine a broad scope of issues. Comparing our children to our parents and each to our selves. Retrospection on the silly notions of our childhood. Day dreaming about the soul mate that might have become a lover, but didn't... A woman who has out-lived her spouse runs her sailing dingy aground while reviewing the details of their life together. A fisherman catches a snap-shot view of a family left in despair by the brutality of a perverted father. A mother is lead to safety by a daughter's masterful seamanship... A twist ending deals with racism... A captain looses his good judgment. Was he consumed by his own greed or was he a victim of an ancient curse?

My recommendation? Buy this book. Wait for a stormy day. Brew a pot of coffee. Throw a couple of logs on the fire. Read the book in one sitting; preferably within sight of the sea.


Tiller And The Pen A Collection of Sailors' Stories   February 20, 2001
 3 out of 3 found this review helpful

Tiller and the Pen, edited by John Ellsworth, is a wonderful collection of sea stories that transported me to sea onto the pitching deck of a sailboat. While reading the stories I could smell the salt air and feel the sea spray on my face.

Following are my favorite stories:

"Three Men and a Boat" by Elton Churchill promised to be a traditional sailing tale, from the first look at the beautiful illustration and the sleek lines of a classic wooden yawl.

Then the opening sentence grabbed my attention: "The smell of oak in the last of the winter fires is intoxicating; like an aphrodisiac it arouses deeper memories of summer."

What a fantastic story of three generations and the family tradition of owning, maintaining, sailing and racing a classic yacht.

"A Daughter of the Tradewind" by Richard Morris Dey described the illusive beauty and free spirit of an island girl who sailed a boat as an artistic endeavor. "She looked the part to live the island life, all right, and carried the silver flute like a talisman in those early days. And when she played that flute the island was hers for the asking; seemed reflected in the bays of her clear blue eyes."

"Island Hunter" by Christine Kling had me walking around the boatyard of Ventura Harbor (my home port) and gazing out across the Santa Barbara Channel at the majestic mountain peaks of the Channel Islands, long before the story mentioned the harbor as the location.

This is the story of a single captain's dream: to find a beautiful, young, woman willing to help him prepare his boat for the adventure of a life time, then to sail off on a cruise of the Pacific Islands together.

"La Corona del Diablo" by Ray Bradley takes us back to the eighteenth century and sailing aboard a Spanish treasure galleon. It is the yarn of a spell cast upon the captain of the King's treasure ship and their perilous journey. It conveys the mystical, magical power of a magnificent golden crown, rimmed with emeralds and dazzling jewels.

This collection works. All authors obviously have been there and lived the life. With colorful descriptions and dramatic moments, these stories deliver. You, too, will smell the salt and feel the spray.


Tiller and the Pen   February 4, 2000
Someone gave me Tiller and the Pen by John Ellsworth as a gift book (a signed one) last Christmas and I am sorry to say I had not opened it until last night when I just happened pick it up from the shelf. Before I was done I had already read half of it. Its a great little collection of sea stories and I especially liked the story by Marian Blue.


A Microcosm of Life   June 15, 1999
 3 out of 3 found this review helpful

Man (and Woman), the Sea and a Boat, powered by the wind of course)--these are the ingredients that make this collection of stories so powerful. In the spirit of other nautical writers like Hemmingway and Coleridge, the collection of stories in Ellsworth's book paint a picture of life on the water. But these are more than sea stories, they, individually and collectively, present a microcosm of life. Whether one is a seasoned sailor, or an armchair explorer like me, he or she will find these stories creating themes and images which one will come back to. The stories are each prefaced by well crafted and often evocative illustrations by Barry Rockwell. Bravo to John Ellsworth for assembling a fine collection that one can stow on board for pleasant reading while in a calm, or keep in the living room when winter gales prevent getting out on the water.


Tales of lives touched by the sea   April 27, 1999
 2 out of 2 found this review helpful

The collection of stories within this fine book are related by the way the oceans, wind and water have touched the characters within. This is a book in which you will find a story you can imagine yourself acting out. Then later, reading the story again to see if somehow the outcome has changed. Or simply to remind yourself of the feeling you had during your first reading.