Messing About in Boats*: The Amazing Adventure of Bob Manry

On June 1, 1965 Robert Manry, a copy editor for the Plain Dealer and a Willowick, Ohio resident, left Falmouth, Massachusetts aboard his 13.5-foot sailboat, Tinkerbelle, to begin his voyage across the Atlantic Ocean. He arrived in Falmouth, England seventy-eight days later on August 17, 1965. At the time of the crossing Tinkerbelle was the smallest boat to have ever crossed the Atlantic.

This website is a compilation of materials related to the events that led up to that journey, the trip itself and the events following. It includes an e-book version of Manry's book Tinkerbelle, approximately 150 photographs from the Cleveland Press and William Ashbolt collections, as well as editorial cartoons, excerpts from his log book, magazine articles and footage related to the journey.

*"Believe me, my young friend," said the water rat, "There is nothing, absolutely nothing, half so much worth doing as simply messing about in boats."
— from The Wind in the Willows, by Kenneth Grahame

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