Messing About in Boats

Les Harding is the author of The Voyages of Lesser Men: Thumbnail
Sketches in Canadian Exploration and The Journeys of Remarkable Women:
Their Travels on the Canadian Frontier.

“Think of all the millions of hours spent messing about in boats, then
think of the minuscule number of nautical miles actually travelled, and
you will get an idea of the most perfect way to waste time ever dreamed
up by mankind.” So writes Will Millar, founder of the late musical
singing group the Irish Rovers, in what amounts to an autobiography of
sorts.

Surprisingly, given the huge international success of the Irish Rovers,
that part of Millar’s life takes a back seat here to his passion for
boats. In this book, we are treated to humorous nautical anecdotes about
grizzled old salts, boats that have sunk under the author, and boats the
author has burned to the waterline. We are also given an account of the
author’s boyhood in Northern Ireland, and of his personal and
professional life in Toronto, Prince Edward Island, and British
Colombia—all set against a backdrop of messing about in boats. All in
all, an interesting and entertaining read.