Andrew Simpson

As we cruise the Mediterranean I ponder on the fact that very few of us are fortunate enough to earn a living doing the sort of things we would choose to do for pleasure. Exactly how this happened to me I'm not quite sure – certainly not the result of brilliant planning. And more recently I have been the beneficiary of technical advances. As a writer, illustrator and yacht designer, modern developments in communication make it possible for me to ply my trade while voyaging. I write these words in Poole, England where my landbound base is. But I could just as easily be on board my boat, Shindig, cruising in Greece.

A sailing boat – the perfect travel accessory

Cruising under sail is a form of tourism – it's as simple as that. But tourism with a difference. To visit the same region first by plane then by boat is to see it in an entirely new light. The plane effectively injects you into the commercial mainstream of your destination, leaving you prey to those waiting to relieve you of your money and deprive you of the chance to see a place as it really is. A boat, on the other hand, allows you to enter through a friendlier door, more directly to the heart of a place, where from the start you meet the real locals face to face. And you take your home and those objects that identify your personality with you.

There could not possibly be a better way to travel.

Writing for money

It has been both a privilege and a very great pleasure to have been a nautical journalist for over 40 years. My first contribution appeared in 1968 but it was not until the mid '70s that I began to take writing seriously, at that time contributing to a number of US boating magazines.

In late 1995 I joined Practical Boat Owner — Britain's most popular boating magazine — as Associate Editor, leaving six years later to resume a freelance career. My monthly column in PBO has been running continuously since 1996. Printouts of my back issue articles can be obtained by going to the magazine's website (http://www.pbo.co.uk)

You too could write for yachting and boating magazines – here are some useful tips:

In common with all consumers magazines, those that cover the boating scene depend on outside contributors for much of their content. And that could be you if you present your articles correctly.

Here's how...