A Little Bit of MisChief

by Christina Gillgren

Overview

A light hearted, whimsical account of seven years spent living on a boat and sailing from Australia to the Mediterranean and beyond: a journey sprinkled with exhilarating experiences that include sandstorms at sea and tropical water spouts, heart pounding moments with pirates, swimming with whale sharks and dolphins in some of the most exotic waters, amazingly generous characters and of course lasting friendships and laughter along the way.

"The author's adventures are told so vividly, making it so blissfully and effortlessly easy to picture being there, or just following her paths to perhaps make up your very own 'bucket-list' of the must-see, sublime spots mentioned in her book.

Of course, this is a particular sailor's journal entwined with a good dose of humour, equally peppered with sweetness, and bold, clever risks ...as well as a little bit of mischief. Exhilarating simplicity, with an alluring dash of coy, so refreshingly told, like having an exciting catch up with a really good friend. Just makes you want to reach out for your favourite Chardonnay, and smile. And dream away."

Nadine Muscat Cini
Freelance Lifestyle Journalist
Times of Malta

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780648542919
Publisher:	Christina Gillgren
Publication date:	05/31/2019
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
Pages:	340
File size:	11 MB
Note:	This product may take a few minutes to download.

About the Author

Christina Gillgren was born on the island of Malta in 1953, the fifth of six children. She attended a convent school, where the nuns tried valiantly to channel her energies and free spirit, making her house prefect. At a young age, she was drawn to writing and wrote several short stories, but never progressed to publishing, as her adventurous exploits such as horse-riding, diving, sailing, and gliding got in the way. Christina travelled extensively with her husband Bjorn, with spells in Switzerland, Sweden and Iran (during the revolution) before settling in Perth, Western Australia. They have two children. In Australia, Christina completed two degrees in History and Communication Studies, and then progressed to a PhD in social/political science. Towards the end of her career, she worked as a public policy advisor to the Premier of Western Australia, running an office on active citizenship and good governance. Throughout her life, her love of sailing prevailed. As a young girl, she represented Malta in dinghy world championships in Holland (1972), coming second. She has participated in international yacht races such as the Middle Sea Race. More recently, she has completed sailing half way around the world, from Australia to the Mediterranean and beyond. During this time, she wrote several articles for the Australian Cruising Helmsman, and did a number of radio interviews in Australia and Malta. This inspired her to complement her academic work with a first novel, A Little Bit of MisChief based on her sailing experiences: a witty, humorous account of life on a boat. The title is a play on words on the fact that Christina was the skipper of sailing vessel Mischief. Having found the pen, Christina has resumed her childhood ambition to write, and is already working on future publications that explore life relations, inspired by past and present experiences.
Christina grew up on the island of Malta. She travelled extensively with her husband Bjorn, living for short periods in Geneva, Stockholm and Iran before finally settling in Western Australia in 1982. Christina obtained a doctorate in social/political science at Murdoch University in 1998. Christina's professional career included lecturing at West Australian Universities, management positions within the public service of WA, sitting on the bench of the Equal Opportunity Tribunal and public policy consultant to the Premier of WA. In 2008, she decided that it was time to realise a long held dream and go sailing around the world. After eleven years of sailing and travelling, Christina took up the pen again, this time branching out from academic writing into fiction and biography, apart from occasional work as a consultant to the European Union's Coastal Management projects. In 2018, she returned with her husband to live in Perth. They have two children, a son and a daughter, and three grandchildren.

Table of Contents

Chapter 01: Launching a Dream
Chapter 02: A Fishy Start
Chapter 03: First Crossing: A Lively Welcome
Chapter 04: Bali to Sebana Cove, Malaysia
Chapter 05: The Malacca Straits
Chapter 06: Thailand and Ship Repairs
Chapter 07: Second Crossing: Thailand to the Maldives
Chapter 08: Third Crossing: Maldives, and then to Oman
Chapter 09: Down Pirate Alley
Chapter 10: Yemen: Land of Contrasts
Chapter 11: The Red Sea
Chapter 12: An Egyptian Escapade
Chapter 13: Finally the Med
Chapter 14: Turkish Delight
Chapter 15: Winter in Finike
Chapter 16: Idyllic Greece!
Chapter 17: The Corinth and the Ionian
Chapter 18: Finally, Malta
Chapter 19: Cruising in the Adriatic
Chapter 20: With a Taste of Italy
Chapter 21: Sea Change: Malta and Scrumptious Sicily
Chapter 22: And Everywhere Else!
Chapter 23: The Caribbean
Chapter 24: Dream the Dream

The Weather Gods
The Weather (For The Nautical Among You)
The Boat: SV Mischief
Glossary of Nautical Terms
Vessel List
Overview map of journey

Editorial Reviews

'The author's adventures are told so vividly, making it so blissfully and effortlessly easy to picture being there, or just following her paths to perhaps make up your very own 'bucket-list' of the must-see, sublime spots mentioned in her book.'

‘A Little Bit of MisChief is a great read full of memories of an unforgettable trip. Most of all it depicts how anyone can take the challenge and make the dream their own.’

The Cruising Helmsman, Phil Ross



‘…a particular sailor’s journal entwined with a good dose of humour, equally peppered with sweetness, and bold, clever risks ...Exhilarating simplicity, with an alluring dash of coy, so refreshingly told, like having an exciting catch up with a really good friend. Just makes you want to reach out for your favourite Chardonnay, and smile. And dream away.'

Nadine Muscat Cini, Freelance Lifestyle Journalist, Times of Malta



'Christina’s tales of heart pounding moments with pirates and swimming with whale sharks and dolphins in exotic waters, among many others…'

The Malta Independent, Marie Benoît



'A trailblazing Maltese sailor …It was the sort of trip bound to bring with it adventures, positive and negative, as they edged their way across the oceans.'

The Times of Malta, Vanessa McDonald



On Authors Facebook page, Goodreads and Amazon:

• 'Fantastic good read. So vividly described that it feels almost like being there. No need to be a sailor to enjoy!' - Josianne Stottrup
• 'Great book, Great writer, loved her book. A Little Bit of Mischief is a good read, funny and interesting.' - Sharon Verry'
• 'I loved the book from the first page. Couldn't put it down. It was like being there, sharing the adventure.' - Nallen Karlsson
• 'An easy book to read about one couple's adventures that will inspire those who dream of a cruising lifestyle to get on and make it happen.' - Johannes Roggeveen
• 'So happy we met and shared some happy times with you, good luck with your book.' - Audrey Napier
• 'Loved the book. Loved the humour.' - Joanna Bonnici
• 'A tremendously enjoyable read which I could not put down until I had sailed around half the world together with Christina and Bjorn, in this delightful peripatetic account.' - Christine A
• 'Loved this book, learnt way more than I ever knew about boating !! It took me on such a ride I was wishing I could go too....it has opened up a whole new world for me.' - Karyl
• 'This is great read - an inspirational story of travel and a true partnership.' - Cec Broderick
• 'One of my favorite Christmas presents was "A Little Bit of Mischief" Looking forward to reading the next one.' - Nancy V. Jaderen
• 'Golly it’s great. I cannot get my nose out of it.' - Lynne Newton
• 'I thoroughly enjoyed it… what an amazing journey you had.' - Clare Crusham
• 'The description is so natural I feel as though I’m living the moments.' - Josephine Gatt
• 'What an excellent read.' - Helen Corbett

From the Publisher