Three Ways to Capsize a Boat: An Optimist Afloat

Three Ways to Capsize a Boat is travel writing at its best, crackling with Chris Stewart’s zest for life, irresistible humor, and unerring lack of foresight. Chris Stewart had a long and eclectic list of jobs.  From some of the most glamorous careers--he was original drummer in Genesis--to the more offbeat--a sheep shearer and circus performer--he had done it all…or almost all.  So when he is offered the chance to captain a sailboat in the Greek islands one summer, something he had never done before, he jumped at the chance, even though he’d never actually sailed before.   So begins the hilarious and wild adventures of Three Ways to Capsize a Boat. From setting the boat on fire not once, but several times in the Aegean Sea to his not-so-grand arrival in Spetses to meet the owners of the boat (who says it isn’t graceful to plow into the docks as a means of coming to a stop?), Stewart quickly catches the sailing bug. By the end of the summer, as he is facing the dreary prospect of going back to sheep shearing, he jumps at the chance to be part of a crew to follow Viking Leif Eiriksson’s historic journey across the Atlantic Ocean. From coming to terms with the long, cold nights at sea and unchanging cuisine to battling intense seasickness and managing to go to the bathroom during a massive storm (a lot harder than you’d think!), Stewart keeps his good humor, but learns, in the end, that perhaps the best things in life are worth coming ashore for.

About the Author :
Chris Stewart is the author of Driving Over Lemons, which became an international bestseller, along with its sequels, A Parrot in the Pepper Tree and The Almond Blossom Appreciation Society. In an earlier life, Chris was the original drummer in Genesis (he played on the first album), then joined a circus, learned how to shear sheep, went to China to write the Rough Guide, gained a pilot’s license in Los Angeles, and completed a course in French cooking.

Review :
"Fans of rock trivia might know the author as one of the founders of the band Genesis. He was its first drummer, but by his own admission, he wasn’t very good, and they turfed him out before they made it big.  Luckily, Stewart had other skills, among them a wicked good ability to tell stories. In this highly entertaining memoir, set in the early 1980s, the author was offered the opportunity to skipper a yacht in the Greek Islands. Never one to let a little thing like a complete and total lack of sailing ability stand in his way, he jumped at the chance. The book is kind of the reversal of the fish-out-of-water story (a mammalinto-water tale, perhaps?), and it’s full of comic elements: finding the yacht in utter disrepair, working with two boat hands named Nikos, setting the boat on fire, that kind of thing. Despite his less-than-stellar performance as a yacht captain, Stewart followed his Greek Islands adventure by signing on with a cross-Atlantic re-creation of Leif Eriksson’s original route to Vinland—all right, he didn’t exactly know what or where Vinland was, but it sounded like it might be fun. So is the book: Stewart really is a quite gifted writer, gleefully poking fun at himself and thoroughly entertaining the reader. — Booklist, starred review “Stewart's eventual love of sailing translates well to landlubbers, while sailors will be glad to have missed the winter storms and sea ice encountered. A funny, appealing read.” –Library Journal “Three Ways to Capsize a Boat: An Optimist Afloat is Stewart's hilarious account of exploring the world, and he proves that no obstacle—seasickness, setting the boat on fire, capsizing—will stand in his way of exploring the seas.” --National Geographic Traveler "Charming, witty, and appealing, this is the work of a gifted writer who is at the top of his game." --Tucson Citizen “Three Ways to Capsize a Boat” is a charming and lyrical read, awash with the joy of discovery, and Stewart is an immensely likeable narrator…The key to his popularity is his honest and self-effacing determination - as discussed during a mid-Atlantic storm - to live a rewarding life.” – Guardian, UK “Chris Stewart is possibly the only travel writer who is genuinely funnier than Bill Bryson.” —Traveller “Exquisite ... the anecdote flourishes once more.”  —Daily Telegraph, UK