” Pointlessly Good Looking is Marvellous!
Philip's writing, your editing, and Kate's illustrations kept me "on board" over the weekend.
Each wave was invigorating and every harbor a peaceful embrace, or a riotous glass -lifted toast. But as the years and pages moved toward 2015 both the writing and my reading became more bittersweet. What a loss. But what a tremendous memorial.
Thank you for all you did to share Philip's words and spirit with us.
I plan to share my copy with our local bookstores and encourage them to order and carry both. “
PD - August 2025, Georgia USA
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Anyone who has ever complained about a rough ferry crossing should read Philip Walwyn’s Pointlessly Good Looking. Walwyn, one of the great names in yachting history, crossed the Atlantic seventeen times - six of them solo -frequently in craft he had designed and built himself. A keen competitor in international races, he knew every mood of the sea and relished its menace as well as its beauty. He had almost completed Pointlessly Good Looking when he died tragically of a heart attack, aged 68, in 2015 when aboard his beloved yacht, Kate, named after his wife, who supplies an epilogue. The book is part autobiography, part adventure story. Walwyn has an extraordinary ability to make the technicalities of yacht construction and management come alive for the reader. He writes with excitement, humour, and not least poetic sensitivity about pitting himself against the elements. The attractiveness of the book is enhanced by photographs, and by numerous reproductions of Kate Spencer Walwyn’s beautiful paintings.
P.D. – Oxford, UK
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“I bought Philip’s book for my brother Adam as a gift, and he treasures and rereads it” Thank you so much!!
DS - Aug 2025, Florida, USA
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“Just ordered. Much looking forward to it as so much enjoyed the first one.
Still remember some fun chats with Philip the last one being at Government House not too much prior to his untimely passing”
DB - July 2025 - Texas, USA
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