Much more than a book about a sailing trip
924345
Ed takes us on a journey of discovery....of self. His story can resonate with all of us of a certain age as we experience what life has thrown at us. Even if you have no interest in sailing or boats, I recommend this book. There are important lessons to be learned from his insight.
2758441
The Pardeys are well-known for their ability to sail their small, engineless, boat safely around the world with very little of the modern equipment most of the rest of us require. Their suggestions for ways to prepare for a voyage, and to increase your comfort and improve your experience while under way are fascinating. They're also amazingly useful even for those of us who rarely venture out of sight of land.

More than just useful, this book also gives you a vivid glimpse of what living aboard a sailing vessel is like.

I recommend this book if you're interested in life at sea, now or in the past, if you're an armchair sailor, and especially if you're responsible for keeping a family or crew healthy and happy on a vacation, longer race, or coastal delivery. And, of course, it's wonderful for the obvious audience: those who are considering casting off from land and crossing oceans.
3545959
50 years is a long time for anyone to be sailing the seven seas and it would
be easy for an account of so many voyages to turn out dull and repetitive.
In this wonderful book Eric shows that not only does he have a profound
understanding of his subject but also the rare ability to explain it to
others in a most attractive style. There is drama and excitement as Eric's
yacht, Fiona, battles through mountainous seas and he gives a most
interesting, often amusing, account of the history, geography and social
culture of the many places he visits. Read this book and you may be inspired
to take up sailing or maybe you won't, but I feel sure you will have a much
clearer understanding of what the author calls "The Inexplicable Attraction
of Ocean Sailing" Bernard Knight
3088244
A captivating, humorous, and highly informative read. The author successfully managed to write a book about sailing that appeals equally to sailors and non-sailors alike. A perfect mix of personal experiences, with quirky history peppered throughout - from anchors to myths, beautifully capturing the good, the bad and the tedious, filling in blanks I had no idea even existed. Each chapter a symphony, a fantastic voyage from start to finish.
2074620
Because this book has a beautiful cover, varnished to protect against spills, and is oversized, with 150 full-color photographs and maps, some might use MAIDEN VOYAGE as a coffee table book, and my guess is that's just fine with the author.  If you're technically inclined, read all the blue sidebars, called MESSING WITH BOATS.  And if you love history and geography, gravitate to the DID YOU KNOW sidebars with information about  each country--trivia you won't find in the relevant State Dept website! But the best way to read this book is all the way through, beginning to end so that you understand the story: why and how Gunter and Lois decided to build the boat and sail around the world in the first place, how they felt, and how they changed.  The adventures tell the physical story, their passages from country to country, but it is also the emotional journey, the psychological  "inner journey", that you won't want to miss.
As a fellow author and circumnavigator, I respect Lois for her work and applaud this book's unique style.
Larry Jacobson
Author of, The Boy Behind the Gate
<a data-hook="product-link-linked" class="a-link-normal" href="/The-Boy-Behind-the-Gate-How-His-Dream-of-Sailing-Around-the-World-Became-a-Six-Year-Odyssey-of-Adventure-Fear-Discovery-and-Love/dp/0982878796/ref=cm_cr_arp_d_rvw_txt?ie=UTF8">The Boy Behind the Gate: How His Dream of Sailing Around the World Became a Six-Year Odyssey of Adventure, Fear, Discovery and Love</a>
4954240
The author David Gowdey presents a 282 page collection of 25 sailing stories, weather guides, interviews, and poems - all of interest to sailors or people wishing to read about sailing. The stories are not really related to one another and as such this is not a compendium of stories that teach you how to sail or to be a better sailor. Rather it is a loose collection of interesting short stories and interviews about the sea and sailing divided into three sections, which covers general sailing, ocean trips, and some stories about racing. It covers small boats to large ocean racers, preparing for trips, crew psychology, cooking, weather, the appeal of the sea, poems, etc. He acts as an "editor" and writes a short four page introduction and injects a one page map of the world showing some of the routes outlined in the sailing stories. There are neither an index or a bibliography for further readings. As such the book merits just 2-3 stars for effort in my opinion, but in fact is closer to 5 stars in terms of reading enjoyment. All the stories can be found elsewhere but the author puts them into one book - and for that reason the book is popular and a good read.

For the most part it is an interesting read and vary varied. Each story is different and the writing is in general excellent. He has the story of "Lipton's Last Challenge" of the America's Cup by his boat Shamrock in 1930, the story of the Bluenose, interviews with Ted Turner and Dennis Connor, comments by a competitor of Dennis Connor - that is actually much more telling and positive about Connor than his interviews, preparing for an ocean crossing, Clare Francis crossing the north Atlantic alone, a story called "Cousteau: The Poet" - which gives many insights about the man, a short story by Robert Louis Stevenson, and one story about the loss of a boat, plus many more.

An excellent short book that I would recommend to sailors or simply people wanting to read about sailing. I wish it had a bibliography, an index, and I found it too short. Having said that, the book does inspire the reader to find more similar stories.
3178269
Fantastic book and not just for sailors. I read it purely out of curiosity with no intention of actually sailing. But the book's philosophy and mindset are pure gems helpful to anyone on land or sea. I think this book has had a bigger impact on my state of mind than books about how to change your state of mind. Plus now I know a lot of sailing trivia to impress my landsman friends with.
1368272
A self-proclaimed jack-of-all-trades decides to take his family sailing from Maine to the Bahamas, on a boat they built themselves, from a raw unfinished hull and the rest of the gear salvaged from a few wrecks. Sound a little haphazard? Yes, it is.

However, this memoir is really engaging and Marin is a good storyteller. I was drawn in to keep reading and enjoyed the adventures.  It has a fair share of technical details about building, preparing, and proceeding through their trip, enough so that true sailors will find it informative.  However, the non-sailor won't be lost in those sections. It talks about the camaraderie of the cruising lifestyle, and often dispels the sailing is only for the rich misconception. This personal account of this major undertaking in their lives is laugh-out-loud humorous at times, frightening at others, but also reverently speaks to the Divine Intervention that guided them to achieve their dream.  The book could have done with a little more polish from a copyeditor, but for a first effort, its definitely worth a read. Part Two is coming out soon so if you like this one, there's more to come.
4931457
Being a friend of the author, I was looking forward to his book with great anticipation. Whatever expectations I had were immeasurably exceeded!
The subject matter, a successful doctor chucking it all and sailing around the world in his own, relatively small sailboat, is fascinating by itself. But, his recall of detailed events in his life, even very early times, is amazing and his openness in sharing intimate details is astounding.
This is a very readable book, letting us see the sometimes painful experiences of a child, young man and husband, his taking stock, "chucking it all" and taking us with him on a fabulous sailing adventure around the world, lasting several years.
4561830
One of my favorite sailing books! Baldwin does a fantastic job on welcoming the reader on his sailing adventure from beginning to end. The sailing/land based adventures are all very entertaining and told from a humble and unique perspective.
109469
Anyone who has ever sailed, or dreamt of a sailing adventure, has no choice but to read this book. Mark Darby has completed an awesome task, tantamount to a dare, by sailing a small boat through some large seas  around a huge continent! His adventures have been well crafted with vivid  word pictures and a descriptive action style which put me in the boat with  him and Sue. I can still clearly see the beautiful Australian coastline,  the memorable people they met and the first reading has left me with a  sweet salt water taste in my mouth and wanting more.
This is, I believe,  a unique sea saga which would encourage any would be adventurer, with  personal challenges and emotions spilling out onto every page. Nine out of  10!
4209770
In the late 1890s Captain Joshua Slocum built a boat by hand to his own specifications and proceeded to sail it solo, around the world. It is an amazing journey. His telling of the story is straight-forward, filled with fascinating details. and he adds a bit of humor here and there - much in the tradition of Mark Twain's travel books. The journey took 3 years and a good deal of that time is actually spent on land, visiting, refitting, re-stocking, and waiting out bad weather. My only reservation, preventing a 5 star review, is that he devotes a few too many words describing local dignitaries and various dinners and parties. These get a bit tedious at times. I preferred the details of his day-to-day life aboard his boat, "Spray", on the open ocean. It is a unique journey and I can't imagine anyone today reproducing anything like it. The illustrations add to the story and are illuminating, informative, and some reflect humorous anecdotes. If you are interested in sailing, adventure, self-reliance, and enjoy a bit of droll humor -  this book satisfies on all counts.
219984
This is more than a narrative about the first single handed voyage around the world  in a self built sailboat.  It is like eavesdropping on thoughts and attitudes of the late19th century.  Very interesting read!
3629081
This is a marvelous book, very well written, about an amazing adventure. Her story of sailing around the world in a 31-foot boat is interesting enough. To do it all alone, without enough money to start with, having to figure out ways of making money in strange ports as she went - that is amazing. I sailed around the world in a 42 foot boat with my wife to share the duties and with enough money. I thought I had an adventure. To do it the way Pat did is truly remarkable. Her writing accurately reflects the joys and challenges of world cruising. Seen from a woman's eyes, she saw things I never saw (I'm male) She was exposed to dangers I never was, and she reacted to situations in ways that help me understand women a little better. On top of all this, she deals intimately with the healing of troubled relationships she left at home, and the rethinking of what she wants her life to be. I enjoyed every page of this book.
3682657
A well crafted tale... and along the way numerous details of life in those great days of sail are covered.
1038864
I fisrt saw this around 1995 at Tinkertown but read about it now.  This is an amazing story and I highly recomend the read.  His descriptions of the travels and the rules of the world's harbors and people as well as the sailing community is extreemily interesting.
2237966
The start of this book is just breathtaking - it engulfs you and is so well written you feel you are right there. The format is a mix of a life journey, following your dream and management / life skills, filled with anectdotes and lessons from a top international sailing career. The layout is beautiful with lots of great sailing images and quotes, making it an easy read also for those self proclaimed non-readers. I am not a sailor at all but I could not put this book down and read it in one day. I picked up quite a few tips for my own work and recognised a lot of what was described, The author should definitively continue his writing journey (but also his sailing career).