Monday, March 07, 2011

Just Trying To Keep My Customers Satisfied


The votes are in. The readers have spoken.

And the winner is...

Hmmm. Well, it's a bit confusing.

I asked readers to select the entry they liked best in out recent Navigation group writing contest. I even tried to make it easier for you by choosing what I thought were the three best entries out of the twenty five submitted.

The final three were...

Buoy Crazy by Bonnie from Brooklyn.

The Graveyard of the Pacific by John from PDX.

A History of Navigation, In Verse by O Docker from O Dock.

The most common feedback was that all three entries were so good that we should call it a three-way tie. It was as if the voters in 2008 had said, "This is way too hard. Why don't we just let Barack Obama, John McCain and Ralph Nader share the presidency?" Kum Ba Yah!

Of those voters who did express a clear preference for one entry, then Bonnie's Buoy Crazy did receive the most votes.

So I hereby declare Bonnie the winner. However, just to show that I do actually care what my readers think, I have decided to award prizes of Tristan Gooley's book The Natural Navigator to all three finalists. So if John, O Docker and Bonnie want to email me your mailing addresses I will send out the prizes.

Thanks to everyone who participated. Great job!

19 comments:

bonnie said...

WOOHOO!

That is a thoroughly satisfying outcome seeing as I couldn't decide myself! I liked what I finally came up with but as I said, O-docker's ode nearly put me off even thinking about competing 'cause I liked it so much (in fact I probably would've stayed silent on the subject if somebody hadn't given me a bit of a push over in Facebook - I think my first entry got me in the frame of mind I needed to be in to think of the second idea, which still didn't come to me until the last day -- I do not know how professional writers do it), and John from PDX was great too.

Joe said...

Kudos Bonnie!

PeconicPuffin said...

Bonnie Bonnie Bonnie!

pfb360 said...

Congratulations Bonnie!

Also, slick new format Tillerman! Looking good...

bonnie said...

Oooh! BRAND new, right?

Spiffy!

Tillerman said...

Arvin! Bloody android. What has he done now?

O Docker said...

Bonnie, congrats and great job!

I'll never look at a buoy or a Seven-Up can the same way again.

You kayakers are tough. My verse makes most people ill, but you survived reading it and still had the strength to put up a great post.

JP said...

Congrats to Bonnie and the other short-listers - very well deserved!

Nice touch from Tillerman that re. the prizes. Give the man a gold star or something!

Baydog said...

I think I'm seeing things.

Baydog said...

Ansel, Ed Adams' brother, took that photo. Where's my favorite Laser sailor in there?

bonnie said...

Baydog, I'm seeing something different every time I come over here!

Arvin must be bored...

Tillerman said...

Where is that damn android? He's running amok.

Tillerman said...

Baydog, I think that photo is of the Cedar Point YC Hangover Bowl, in about 1929 or 1930.

That's Tom Lipton just rounding the windward mark with Harry Vanderbilt chasing him in 170648. Ollie Stephens is in 177003 and bringing up the rear is Nat Herreshoff in 179469. He must have been over 80 at this time and he's not even using a Radial rig!

Those guys were tough.

Mojo said...

Quite the contrast from the happy people set you pictured at the top of the post, Tillerman.

If your new (smashing) masthead picture is actually from that year (1929-1930), and you know all those tough guys by name and number, it would seem that your profile description...

"Even though I am over 60..."

... might be a casual understatement?

On the other hand, I also recall you engaging sail(s) #43 at very close range.

Molto vigore!

WV: equingst - horse anxiety?

Mojo said...

... but we know they're not from that year,

And you're still an inspiration to us all.

Love the new look!

Tillerman said...

Mojo, pleased don't encourage Arvin. All this tinkering with the blog design that he's been doing today can only end in tears.

43 said...

I deny everything.

O Docker said...

Please tell Arvin I think he's doing a great job.

He's made me realize a bunch o stuff that used to be locked down in Blogger design is now changeable - mainly column widths, so you can now run photos bigger than you used to be able to - finally!

Thanks again, Arvin, and look for some changes over at O Dock, too.

Tillerman said...

O Docker, would you like to borrow Arvin? Say, for a couple of years. I am sure we can come to some arrangement.

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