In the quest to get our kids as obsessed with sailing as we are, we’re handicapped from the start by that damned liberal children’s media and their disdain for yachting.
Okay, maybe not, but there are thousands of kids’ titles that put the gleam of fireman, astronauts, and NASCAR drivers in hungry childrens’ eyes, and precious few that make a kid think “I wanna hang around on rickety piers and fix boats when I grow up.”
But now there is, and for the first time since Captain Pugwash, the life of a waterman is once again in glorious color with the Billy’s Boatshed books (and website, games, song, etc.). Not since Captain Pugwash is a cartoon so well designed for purchase by sailing moms, dads, grandparents, aunts, and uncles, and for good reason; series’ creator Aimee Atkins is not only a former kids’ star as the Wiggles’ ‘Dorothy the Dinosaur’, she’s more than a little familiar with the lives and times of real racing sailors.
2009 Melges 32 World Champ Pauly Atkins gave us a proud shout about the book the other day. “It’s written by my sister and based in part on my old job and home,” Pauly told us. “That was at Manly Boatshed, where I worked servicing moorings and salvaging boats on Sydney Harbour. An old friend of my sister, Sam Moran (formerly known as the Yellow Wiggle), launched the book in Australia with Aimee the other day, and you can pre-order it in the UK or USA now.” There’s even a character called “Pauly The Pelican,” so we guess he knows what he’s talking about.
They also made a video teaser that has sailing parents already asking, “when does the movie come out?”
