Fatty Goodlander, S/V Wild Card - Blurbs, comments, Rants, etc.

Cap'n Fatty Goodlander

...the life and times of an inkslinging sea gyspy...

New Book Released Nov 16, 2011

BUY, OUTFIT, and SAIL

How to Inexpensively and Safely BUY, OUTFIT, & SAIL

a Small Vessel Around the World by Cap'n Fatty Goodlander

Click here for Kindle Edition Print Edition Here

News Flash - Cap'n Fatty keynote speaker at NW Maritime Center Boating Symposium

News Flash - Wild Card for Sale, Cheap!

click here to join us on Facebook

Fatty Goodlander, S/V Wild Card
Atlantic Ocean
Norhern Hemisphere
Earth
fatty@fattygoodlander.com

Blurbs, comments, Rants, etc.

Fatty complained to us in a recent email -- with a pretty equal mix of exasperation and bewilderment -- that "when cruising in Western civilization, there are not only rules, but people actually demand compliance!" In just one pithy line he summed up the wide-eyed, droll attention he and his wife Caroline bring to their nearly non-stop world cruising. His newest book, Red Sea Run: Two Sailors in a Sea of Trouble, invites us back inside his head for awhile where we can catch another glimpse of the idiosyncratic universe that is Fatty's World.--a really nice place to travel.

Douglas and Bernadette Bernon,

Cruising World Contributing Editors

Several years ago I happened upon a touching article in a sailing magazine that far exceeded the genre. It was an open love letter from Gary Goodlander--I can’t bring myself to call anyone “Captain Fatty”-- about his wife and shipmate of decades, Carolyn. Together they have carved a cruising life that many will envy, particularly in these troubling times.

Webb Chiles, author and sailing legend.

A cross between Hunter Thompson and Eric Hiscock, no one spins a voyaging yarn quite like the one-and-only Fatty Goodlander. With "Red Sea Run," as always, we lucky readers are once again in very, very good hands.

Herb McCormick, Cruising World magazine

Red Sea Run aims straight and true at the heart of the cruising life — you, your boat, and Mother Ocean. And if you have a partner like Fatty's Carolyn, and bunch of sea gypsy friends sharing the vision, it's a warm heart. This book will resonate with bluewater cruisers and lure others to get out there, way out there, and let the sea work its magic.

Sally Erdle, Editor of Caribbean Compass

His writing style is delightful. He conveys not only the excitement of sailing but shows how sexy heaving to can be.

Lin and Larry Pardey, authors

“Yet another winner. Fatty will make you laugh and cry … often at the same time. Explore the world with the last of the real cruising adventurers as they tack and gibe their way in and out of trouble in the Red Sea.”

Gary E. Brow, author of Caribbean High and editor of All at Sea magazine

Cap’n Fatty Goodlander has heart, and he’s not afraid to write with it. In prose vivid and spare, this self-proclaimed Sea Gypsy brings to life the sea and its shores and all the adventures to be had in between. At turns philosophical, at turns bust-a-gut funny, Goodlander is a master storyteller, and he grapples with the meat of life—the simple pleasures, the Big Questions, the stuff that’ll bring a tear to your eye. Wise and witty, Cap’n Fatty and his joy and wonder about the world burst off the page.

On a personal note, when my fisherman father-in-law was laid low with botched heart surgery, I read Cap’n Fatty aloud in the ICU. I kid you not, this was the turning point; my father-in-law’s heartbeat stabilized and he started fighting his way back to this world. Cap’n Fatty’s stories are more than great entertainment, they remind us we have so much to live for. They’re life savers.

Janna Cawrse Esarey, author of Motion of the Ocean

In Red Sea Run, Capt. Fatty Goodlander's latest book, the good and sometimes zany Captain dares to do what few people would ever consider doing. Along with a flotilla of other yachtsmen, Fatty and his wife Carolyn, aboard their small yacht Wild Card, decide to sail up the Red Sea to get to the Mediterranean. Urged on by the prospect of being closer to their daughter, Roma, who is expected to deliver a baby soon in the Netherlands, they want to avoid the time-consuming, safer route that entails going around the Southern tip of Africa. Forget the pirates! A baby is on the way!

Anyone who has read Capt. Fatty's other books knows few writers can tell a better story, and Red Sea Run doesn't disappoint in the least. It is also full of serious technical information about making long ocean passages safely. Wanna-be cruisers or those already living aboard a boat will find a lot of things to digest and remember. And then there's the love story.

For such a swashbuckling adventurer Capt. Fatty sure is a mush when it comes to romance. His unabashed devotion (not to mention lust) for his wife Carolyn enters into the narrative often enough to continue to provoke many shore-bound blokes who feel they are slaves to the rat race on shore to grab a wench and put to sea, and Fatty, if asked, will tell you harbors everywhere around the globe abound with men who have done just that. Carolyn does deserve to be worshipped. She is, after all, Capt. Fatty's foil, the wise one he turns to for reassurance. She is his navigator. She's also always eager to hop into his arms. So what man could resist that?

Red Sea Run tells a hair-raising story, but it's impossible not to be tickled by Fatty's vivid descriptions about his fellow boatmen and the characters they meet when they go ashore. Whether he's describing the comedy of knife-buying in a Muslim country or his frustration with having to pay bribe after bribe to Egyptian officials, his hilarious caricatures of people and places will make you laugh.

If you've ever wondered what it must be like travel through pirate infested waters, all you have to do is hop aboard the Wild Card as she travels on this her most fantastic voyage. Red Sea Run is a book that is sure to be read and passed around by sailors everywhere. Once I started it, I couldn't put it down. Carole A. Borges, author of Disciplining the Devil's Country

Additional comments, etc.(This page is under construction, please forgive the bad formatting. We're working on getting it cleaned up.)

Tucker Bradford says: Fatty, Victoria and I are sitting next to each other reading your Red Sea Run book. Suddenly the disapointment of finding leaky portlights and toerails seems more like part of life's great adventure again! Thanks for the perspective, motivation, and inspiration again!

Fatty replies: Oh, that's wonderful, Tucker! I was a bit worried about the manuscript. I wanted the joy to come through as loud and clear as the agony! I'm glad you enjoyed it. It's true... the difference between adventure and ordeal is attitude!

----------------------------------------

Captain Fatty,

Thank you. A couple of years ago when we were looking to buy a bigger sailboat to retire on I emailed you asking the question is there any books about sail trim for ketches. You were kind enough to respond with details on sail trim for the mizzen. Well we now have a 42 Whitby (you mention to me that you were still looking for one for $3000 on facebook). I saved your email on trim and It works great! It's nice to go over 14 miles on lake Huron and never touch the wheel after you balance the sails. Thanks.

On another note, I know you are working on a book about your experience on the Red Sea. When this one is done if you would write a book on "how to". The Fatty way to cruise. I've read the Pardys books, and attended 2 day seminars by John and Amanda Neal and I know that there is more then one way to skin a cat or sail a boat. Having read all your books, followed you at All At SEA and CruisingWorld, I believe a book on how you do the things you do will sell ( I will buy one). You write about it all the time it's just not in one binder.

I hope you consider it.

Thanks again,

Randy Robinson, sailing on Sinbad a 42ft Whitby

Oh greatest of all past,present ,and future fat ones,you and you alone will rule for eternity. After reading your latest book, ALL AT SEA YARNS, I am put at mind of how great artists always reach their apogees. With the Beatles it wasthe SGT PEPPERS album. With Elton John it was the YELLOW BRICK ROAD album ect. ect. After reading (and more importantly BUYING all of your books to date) I feel you have your masterpeice in ALL AT SEA YARNS. Like the aforementioned artists I am sure you will create many more works that will be more than worthy of note ,but in my opinion,this is your best to date. Thank You Fatty.

Jiles Hinson

This collection of humorous columns is a delight to read. Don't read it in your shared berth, because you will rock the boat with laughter. The book works particularly well on the Kindle, because the words (not pictures) are the point and because short columns are great for that spare minute reading (which is why I bought the Kindle). After finishing this book, I went back to Amazon and downloaded a couple more by the Cap'n.

Sailor Sam

I received this as a gift, and was not sure I would enjoy it, boy was I wrong. From page one Fatty drew me into his world and life of adventure and humor wrapped in warm saline solution. Finished this great read in the first weekend. You won't regret buying this book!!!

R. Vincent "Azul"

I have been reading about Fatty Goodlander for some time now in the sailing magazines that he writes for. His sense of humor and his ability to put into words his true feelings and descriptions are the best. He pulls you in and keeps you there and many times you will laugh out loud at his accounts. All and all just a great read.