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Busy Doing Nothing
We are artist and sailors, and have been living, and working from our sailboat since 2016.
In 2020, we completed our circumnavigation of the Pacific ocean. The last passage from Japan (Shimoda) to Canada (Victoria) took 51 days, and it was the hardest thing we've ever done. We decided to keep a physical logbook of daily happenings onboard.
Upon our arrival, we transcribed the handwritten pages, so we could publish them online. Weeks later, we decided to expand on it, to release it as a digital book. We revised most of the text, expanded on specific logs, and added:
- 51 new drawings
- 16 new sections
- Seasickness, Kuroshio, Sailing at night, Heaving-to, Squalls, Food, Self-
steering, Food storage, Water, Birds and nature, Computers, The burden of
electronics, Thrift and care, Catching rain, Coping with stress, Foul-
weather gear and Pino's Japanese pantry.
- 19 recipes
Busy Doing Nothing is 218 pages long, written in English, and formatted for e-readers. The first version is still available to read online, but doesn't include the newer content an revised text. Buying this book is a way to support our work, we put a lot of work into it, and we hope you like it.
In 2020, we completed our circumnavigation of the Pacific ocean. The last passage from Japan (Shimoda) to Canada (Victoria) took 51 days, and it was the hardest thing we've ever done. We decided to keep a physical logbook of daily happenings onboard.
Upon our arrival, we transcribed the handwritten pages, so we could publish them online. Weeks later, we decided to expand on it, to release it as a digital book. We revised most of the text, expanded on specific logs, and added:
- 51 new drawings
- 16 new sections
- Seasickness, Kuroshio, Sailing at night, Heaving-to, Squalls, Food, Self-
steering, Food storage, Water, Birds and nature, Computers, The burden of
electronics, Thrift and care, Catching rain, Coping with stress, Foul-
weather gear and Pino's Japanese pantry.
- 19 recipes
Busy Doing Nothing is 218 pages long, written in English, and formatted for e-readers. The first version is still available to read online, but doesn't include the newer content an revised text. Buying this book is a way to support our work, we put a lot of work into it, and we hope you like it.
218 pages, Kindle Edition
Published February 1, 2021
10 people are currently reading
86 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 16 of 16 reviews
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May 5, 2021A great read, Rekka and Devine are a unique combination of interests, and we match in a considerable number.
Read
December 11, 2024grazie a questo libro ho fatto gli spaghetti con le alghe nori e mia moglie mi ama
January 31, 2022
A wonderful log of the pacific crossing from Japan to Canada from 100Rabbits, one of my all-time-favorite liveaboard-people in the world.
They write about the challenges of a pacific crossing, how to prepare using, how to deal with boredom, what to eat and also how to cope with having almost died on the open ocean.
Also extremely enjoyable because of the cute illustrations.
They write about the challenges of a pacific crossing, how to prepare using, how to deal with boredom, what to eat and also how to cope with having almost died on the open ocean.
Also extremely enjoyable because of the cute illustrations.
April 19, 2023
I first got interested in the book because of the Hundred Rabbits' work on open source and their digital garden. They write and share a lot of knowledge on their website and their youtube channel. It's not only about sailing and traveling, but technology, software, books, and food. I'm really inspired by their work.
Busy Doing Nothing is a book by Hundred Rabbits. It's more like a diary or a logbook of the whole journey they had sailing from Japan to Canada through the Pacific Ocean.
Rekka is the writer and narrator of their journey. The book is very human because she shares her fears, pains, and accomplishments, and then very relatable. I could picture a lot about their food diet (and you can see more about it in their food blog) as she tells each meal they had.
It's also interesting how nature, the sea, and the weather influenced how they lived in the boat, what they ate in each meal, and how they sailed. In the ocean, nature has a huge impact on your life.
If you romanticize leaving in a boat or even sailing from one continent to another, I highly recommend reading the book to have some reality check.
Loved this part
Some things to consider:
- I needed to learn some sailing and sea vocabulary but overall easy to understand.
- I wanted to read more about their work while sailing but I guess traveling from Japan to Canada by boat is not an easy task and their focus was primarily on sailing
- I wish I could see more illustrations and photos of the trip
---
I've read the book in its open-sourced form but you can also buy the physical book support their work.
Busy Doing Nothing is a book by Hundred Rabbits. It's more like a diary or a logbook of the whole journey they had sailing from Japan to Canada through the Pacific Ocean.
Rekka is the writer and narrator of their journey. The book is very human because she shares her fears, pains, and accomplishments, and then very relatable. I could picture a lot about their food diet (and you can see more about it in their food blog) as she tells each meal they had.
It's also interesting how nature, the sea, and the weather influenced how they lived in the boat, what they ate in each meal, and how they sailed. In the ocean, nature has a huge impact on your life.
If you romanticize leaving in a boat or even sailing from one continent to another, I highly recommend reading the book to have some reality check.
Loved this part
"LAND!" Devine screams at me as I sleep. "LAND!" I scream back at him, sitting up in the bed. It's land. It's here. It's real.
Some things to consider:
- I needed to learn some sailing and sea vocabulary but overall easy to understand.
- I wanted to read more about their work while sailing but I guess traveling from Japan to Canada by boat is not an easy task and their focus was primarily on sailing
- I wish I could see more illustrations and photos of the trip
---
I've read the book in its open-sourced form but you can also buy the physical book support their work.
February 26, 2021
Lots of spelling errors and such, but a fantastic read.
This is essentially the log book of two people on a small boat sailing from Japan to Vancouver, supplemented with additional information. But the narrative structure is very much still "this is happening right now", over and over again. Sounds boring? It isn't. The nature of the trip makes for a great story arch in itself.
Can absolutely recommend to anyone who's interested in learning about the meaning of life, blue water sailing, or japanese food.
This is essentially the log book of two people on a small boat sailing from Japan to Vancouver, supplemented with additional information. But the narrative structure is very much still "this is happening right now", over and over again. Sounds boring? It isn't. The nature of the trip makes for a great story arch in itself.
Can absolutely recommend to anyone who's interested in learning about the meaning of life, blue water sailing, or japanese food.
March 11, 2021
A thrilling view into what it was like to cross the North Pacific in a sailboat. As somebody who knows nothing about sailing it was a fascinating insight into what it takes to make such a journey. Some of the challenges, like high winds and freak waves I had expected, but others I had no idea about, like how hard it is to avoid other vessels and the level of mental toughness required to get through periods of no wind.
September 1, 2021
Ein Logbuch von zwei Leuten, die eine lange Reise von Japan nach Canada mit einem Segelboot antreten.
Nicht mehr und nicht weniger. Aber das ist auch gut, denn so erleben wir quasi jeden Tag mit und erfahren von Gedanken, Ängsten und Alltag.
Gegen Ende wird alles etwas hektisch und bekommt Lücken, denn die beiden sind körperlich und seelisch ziemlich strapaziert. Aber wer mag es Ihnen verdenken?
Ich freue mich darauf die angehangen Rezepte auszuprobieren.
Nicht mehr und nicht weniger. Aber das ist auch gut, denn so erleben wir quasi jeden Tag mit und erfahren von Gedanken, Ängsten und Alltag.
Gegen Ende wird alles etwas hektisch und bekommt Lücken, denn die beiden sind körperlich und seelisch ziemlich strapaziert. Aber wer mag es Ihnen verdenken?
Ich freue mich darauf die angehangen Rezepte auszuprobieren.
June 22, 2024
A power couple going through a hard experience for the experience of it. There's little philosophy provided. I got a lot of mileage out of googling all the sailing terms and plant-based food they went through.
March 15, 2021
As someone with almost no experience with boats, this is quite different from anything I've read before. Rekka's log book was enjoyable, and I would definitely recommend giving it a read.
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April 6, 2021See my reviews here:
BookWyrm: https://bookwyrm.social/user/lamnatos...
The StoryGraph: https://app.thestorygraph.com/reviews...
BookWyrm: https://bookwyrm.social/user/lamnatos...
The StoryGraph: https://app.thestorygraph.com/reviews...
Want to read
June 19, 2021《Busy Doing Nothing》是一本讲述加拿大情侣 Devine 和 Rek，在2020 年疫情期间从日本下田市出发，靠一艘名叫 PINO 的帆船，用时 51 天航行回到他们家乡--加拿大维多利亚港的海航日志。书中不光记录了这段海航时光，附上了他们一路三餐的食谱，女生Rek还用插图的方式留存了沿途风景和动物朋友，海浪凶猛以及星月温柔。
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December 25, 2021Nice little travelogue of a journey across the Pacific. Potential readers may want to keep in mind that it's quite a raw journal feed collated into book format, but fairly succinct and enjoyable.
March 5, 2023
Fantastic book about the trials of living aboard a sailboat.
February 18, 2024
Quick, easy read about a pretty terrible passage across the North Pacific by two young sailors
April 20, 2025
A great account of an amazing journey. Rekka and Devine are constant sources of inspiration.
May 22, 2021
I’ve been a huge fan of Rekka and Devine’s — better known as Hundred Rabbits — adventures sailing around the world over the past few years, following them through their various posts, tweets, and especially videos that they would share as they sailed from Vancouver, down the coast to Mexico, then to New Zealand, before reaching Japan and then back again. But despite all the following I was doing, it’s reading their book Busy Doing Nothing that gave me the best understanding of what they were actually experiencing and going through as they made those multi-week crossings. From the mind numbing to the fear-for-the-end-of-your-life, the book is an extended log of the 51 days it took them to sail from Japan back to Vancouver, and it’s a fantastic read. As much as I admire what they achieved, there’s no way in hell that I could put myself through something like that, but Busy Doing Nothing at least gave me an intimate look at what they had to endure, both physically and mentally. You can read the raw logs on their website, but I recommend picking up the digital book, as it expands on the entries, with additional info and details, as well as all of the recipes that kept them going through those long days and nights. I can’t recommend this enough.
Displaying 1 - 16 of 16 reviews