A raid on the north-east England island monastery of Lindisfarne in 793 – the first documented attack in the west – was probably launched from Norway. Its precise targeting suggests the raiders were well-informed about their destination, and no doubt attracted by stories of the riches held there. Writing afterwards, York cleric Alcuin described how the church had been “spattered with the blood of the priests of God, stripped of all its furnishing, exposed to the plundering of pagans”.

Last month the niche world of wooden boats made a fleeting apperance in the mainstream media with almost an hour of conversation on ABC Radio Sydney’s nightlife program. And what’s affirming for us is that the participants are all regular contributors to this humble journal.

Ginny Gerlach and I share a core passion - to see more women on water. It’s as simple and as complicated as that. The passion certainly comes out in this interview.