One of my non-writing passions are boats. I was lucky to have a few hours off in Leiden this week after a business meeting and found the city and its canals a delight. They also had a stretch of water with some really fantastic old clippers. These are flot bottomed boats used to navigate the inland waterways of the Netherlands. Most of them are engine powered nowadays, but they do have sails. I think they will also do a bit of coastal work too.

People still in them! How jealous am I!