To the Baltic with Bob


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Posted by Andrew Jones on August 20, 2004 at 20:14:31 from 81.77.214.77 user AndrewDJ.

I came across To The Baltic with Bob at the end of last year and thought it would be interesting to read and compare it to Racundra’s First Cruise. To the Baltic is written by Griff Rhys Jones, the well known comedian and restoration champion. Subtitled An Epic Misadventure it tells of his 2002 voyage in Undina, a restored 1950s 45ft wooden boat, from the Thames to the Baltic.
The similarities to Racundra start almost immediately with Griff ‘snatching’ Undina from the boatyard with the joiners still at work. Evidently boatbuilders are keen to ensure that Noah retains the record for being the only one to finish a boat on time.
As well as Griff Undina’s crew consists primarily of Bob (of the title) and Baines although sundry other visitors and acquaintances sign-on for short spells at various points in the voyage. Who can we cast as the latter-day Cook and Ancient Mariner? After some consideration I doubt that there’s any direct correlation and Griff himself is the best candidate for them all evidencing many of their characteristics in a blended form.
In Racundra Ransome regularly writes of the history of the places he visits and how they’d been affected by the Great War and its aftermath and the way lifestyles of the inhabitants are changing, not always for the better in his opinion. Griff echoes this except that he’s now looking at the aftermath of the Cold War. I found a very interesting parallel between Ransome’s description of some places not having changed much since medieval times and Griff’s description of a medieval festival taking place – heritage and history transferred from a way of life to a theme park type tourist event.
Griff tells of going sailing with his father as a child and was introduced to Arthur Ransome’s works then, “the staple diet of any middle-class sailing family. His books were handed out with the first lifejacket.” He has sailed in the vicinity of Secret Water which he seems, like many modern contributors to this board, to have found particularly exciting. In To the Baltic he harks back to this when enjoying eels on board Undina. Interestingly he associates himself with Roger and Titty rather than John – perhaps a feeling of being less capable on a boat than might be desirable?
Racundra gets a mention as well and Griff tells us that he was “excited all over again to be following in Ransome’s tracks”. With that, and recognition after fishing that Ransome would probably have managed much better, it’s evident, like so many here, Ransome’s writings have had an affect on this sailor’s life.
Although lengthier and with a writing style somewhat more coarse in the modern fashion To the Baltic with Bob has much of the humour and insight evident in Racundra’s First Cruise and is a most enjoyable read (in which case you may well ask why it’s taken me over eight months to get through it).



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