Ice With Everything

by H.W. Tilman

For those who enjoy a bit of old fashioned adventure and a sea story it is hard to go past Mr. Bill Tilman, a classic adventurer right up to his last days. His love for mountaineering, ocean sailing and the old English pilot cutters speaks clearly to us in this interesting little volume. Mr. Tilman wrote seven books about his mountain travels, and eight books on his years sailing to extreme climates. One of the last 'gentleman adventurers', Bill Tilman's stoic and courageous exploits have earned him a place of honor as one of the greatest in the pantheon of explorers. Once when asked the question what does one need to do to have an adventure Mr. Tilman replied in his succinct manner, "Put on a good pair of boots and walk out the door." "Ice With Everything" covers three voyages Mr. Tilman undertook to Greenland in 1971 to 1973, then in his early 70's, with the second seeing the loss of his second cutter, SeaBreeze. Not an easy man to deter, within one winter he had purchased a new old boat, refitted her and was on his way back to Greenland to complete the goal he had set himself. Mr. Tilman's adventures are brought to life through his simple narrative style, with never a cross word for anyone no matter what the disaster, a disdain for superlatives, a wry wit (if not always p.c.) and erudite quotations. His one line aphorisms scattered throughout, such as "a well-filled stomach is the great thing, all else is luxury," and "to enquire is neither a disaster nor a disgrace", reveal his joy of a simple adventurous life. "Ice With Everything" makes for an uplifting read.

Genres: Nonfiction, Nautical

142 pages, Hardcover

First published June 1, 1974

About the author

Major Harold William "Bill" Tilman, CBE, DSO, MC and Bar, was an English mountaineer and explorer, renowned for his Himalayan climbs and sailing voyages.

See Wikipedia for more:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bill_Ti...

Reviews

[Daren · Rating 4 out of 5]

A slender offering from HW Tilman, and author I am very fond of. His books are equally split between his mountaineering exploits and his sailing exploits - this is his second to last book and covers three sailing expeditions to Greenland (taking in visits to Iceland and the Faeroe Islands as well as stops in parts of Britain and Ireland. Published in 1974, the journeys took place annually in 1971, 1972 & 1973.

The previous sailing book I read was featured his first yacht Mischief, whereas this book explains his last two voyages in Seabreeze and his first voyage in a new yacht Baroque; as you might have guessed, it include the wrecking of Seabreeze.

All three of Tilman's yachts were Bristol Channel Pilot Cutters - his boat of choice. The got progressively larger, 45 foot, 49 foot and 50 foot respectively. All were constructed around the turn of the century (1906, 1899 and 1902).

It is fair to summarize the three journeys as having modest success - ice in Scoresby Sound prevented them reaching their intended destination in the first journey, the Seabreeze was lost in Greenland in the second journey, the third was (like many first journeys in a newly set up boat) was a trial with various mishaps and equipment failures (although at least they made a successful voyage to Greenland and above the Arctic Circle.

In describing the events of each expedition, Tilman explains his crew (which differs each time, although some crew members are recurring), describes a lot of the technical design of the cutters, the sails etc and of course the exploits on the sea, places they visit and people who they meet.

While it perhaps didn't have the continuity of a book about a single expedition, it was a quick read and as typical with Tilman, a well presented read worth seeking out if this is a topic of interest.

4 stars

[Sandra Walker · Rating 4 out of 5]

A niche read and I loved every page of it.