Enjoyable overview of a sailing trip
355442
I enjoyed this short piece. The author could add some additional tension and conflict, which would increase the drama for the reader. For instance, instead of one sentence to explain why you started wearing a safety line, show us exactly what happened that night or day. Were you scared? Did you get salt water in your eyes? So too with the loss of the sail. Aim for more show and less tell.
2714684
Good on details of life onboard, as good on the geo-political and technical aspects as could be achieved in a book which aims to reflect life in such a significant ship. My one criticism is the positioning of the photos within the publication; instead of concentrating them in a couple of places in the book, it would have been helpful to have interspersed them to follow the narrative.
435164
Dom Degnon is a charming writer and accomplished world sailor.  This book is the story of his seven-year circumnavigation in a 41' sailboat.  Although Degnon and his various crews have their troubles with weather, officials, and other things, this was a happy and easy cruise.  It should be encouraging to those contemplating a similar voyage.  Things have gotten even easier now that finding where you are in the ocean is easy due to GPS.  Even though I am a weekend sailor on Lake Ontario I found the book to be entertaining and educational.
  I have one qualm that I cannot help voicing.  The first sentence of the book goes as follows:  "Listen! If you are reading this to find out the secret of successfully sailing around the world, here it is: Pack your bag and go."  (Also see author statement on this page.) I almost put the book down in disgust after reading this sentence.  The last thing we need out there is more poorly prepared and under-funded wanna-be world sailors.  Degnon has a superbly well-prepared boat and the funds to allow him to cruise for seven years.  How can the rest of us living on paychecks just pack our bags and go?
  Degnon never explains how he was able to fund his adventure, but never seems short of cash in seven years.  Unless you inherit a fortune or win the lottery I don't see how you can survive floating around for seven years without a regular job--and maintaining a world cruising boat ain't cheap.  As a writer once said (I forget who, alas) "More boats have been destroyed by lack of funds then have ever been by storms and groundings."  Herb Payson in his books has some interesting ideas about how to make money while cruising--but Degnon never touches on this issue.  I suspect because he had some limitless source of funds that he doesn't want to reveal.
3062473
When I was much younger and first started reading the Horatio Hornblower books by C.S. Forester, I was blown away by the authenticity, yet puzzled by the jargon - what's a halliard, for example, or a topsail? What does it mean to shorten sail, and what is the lee side of a ship? This book would have helped immensely. It's not overly technical, nor does it swamp you with minutiae, but it gives you a good general overview of the British ships of the Napoleonic era, what the nautical terms are, what life was like on board and a couple of summaries of battles for good measure.
This is an appetizer, but what an appetizer it is. If you're looking for more technical specs of ships of the line look elsewhere, but if you're a newbie to the entire historical nautical fiction scene, I can think of few better places to start.
2347466
This book is a good mix of adventure and humor of a couple circumnavigating the globe.  At times there are members of the extended family along. Although there is some uneven connection between chapters, this is an enjoyable read.  The point of view is that of the husband/father/captain and some of the humor is at the expense of his wife and other crew members.  The places, cultures, weather conditions encountered are vividly potrayed.
1111841
I thoroughly enjoyed reading the author's account of circumnavigating the world with her husband in a small sailboat.  I have read books by other authors who have sailed around the world, some single-handed, some non-stop, but Parry's rich descriptions of the places visited along the way allows the reader to come along for the ride, so to speak.  The reader is able to share the author's experiences, both good and bad, with the many different people, places, and customs they encountered on their voyage around the world.

The author also offers her perspective of how choosing to shed the trappings of life on land began a seven year transformation of her life while at sea.  The journey was not always easy, but the sum of her experiences changed her life in a profound and positive way.

The author avoided an abundance of esoteric sailing language, so the reader who may not be fully versed in nautical terms can follow along smoothly without flipping to the glossary often in order to understand what is going on.

This book is simply a good read!  :)
4698752
This is a very readable book on the topic of sailing instructions.  I enjoyed he author's writing style.  This is a very good addition to my small sailing library.
3052615
Clearly the author has a personal relationship with many of the people who served on the ship...I felt like I was talking with good friends and hearing their stories firsthand.  (If he really doesn't he faked it well).  The writing style was very conversational - it made it an easy read.  As another reviewer noted, it would have been nice if the pictures were more clear, but who knows the reason for that - age, production process, paper type?  Not being a history buff I sometimes felt lost in the details, but at the same time, since I'm not a big history buff I got a lot of fascinating information in a very compact book.  The people whose stories were told will live on - and that's a fabulous reason for a book.
1896204
While there are strong elements of the typicl sailboat adventure, Bradford seperates from the pack and weaves an observant reflection on nature, human nature, class, and life in a different lane.  Very enjoyable.
3283157
Detailed adventure in early sailing ships. A good read with lots of sailing details
305283
I have little experience sailing, and like Glenn Damato, I am a middle-aged nerd with the itch to sail.  That is what drew me to the book.

I read the book over the course of a day and a half.  It is very easy to read, the author moves along the story at a fairly brisk pace, and there are frequent tense moments to keep you wanting more.

This was an enjoyable read.  As a nerdy guy, I can relate to some of Glenn's issues, but I think he takes his self-loathing a bit too far.  If you google photos of Glenn, he looks like an ordinary guy to me.  I think when it comes to women, he is like the Detroit Lions.  He has convinced himself that he is always going to lose, and has a losing history to back it up, so it's hard to argue with his logic.  But the losing attitude certainly can't help matters.

There were several disappointments for me as I read.  I found myself identifying with Glenn, even if I disagreed with how he handled certain situations.  That said, he really allowed his crew to walk all over him repeatedly.  I also wondered whether there was more to his relationship with one of his crew than he let on, like maybe he would have liked a little romance with her.  I felt like his failure to say anything about her attractiveness or unattractiveness was a pretty big clue in this direction.  So it seems to me that Glenn may have left something out.

In addition, the ending was fairly disappointing.  If Glenn really has some moment where there is this grand epiphany of who he is and what he needs to do in order to find happiness in this life, it is entirely lost on me.  There are some minor life lessons here.  Do not take your landlubber lifestyle for granted.  Do not think that running away from your problems will solve anything.  Believe in yourself, just not to the point that it gets you killed.  Most importantly, know yourself.  There is nothing wrong with being a middle-aged tech worker if that is what you want to be.
1166479
I appreciated "Dove" more for its down-to-earth approach to Robin's otherwise romanticized adventure than for the sailing content (in that respect, Moitessier's "The long way" still remains the soul  sailor's bible, I guess). Robin's recurring loneliness and his father's  attitude towards the trip (and, ultimately, towards his son's life) somehow  took the wind of my sails as far as the magic of his story is concerned.  When reading about the voyage in the National Geographic, I had the feeling  he was much happier and self confident than the book actually sugests.  Seems to me now that upon his arrival, and in spite of all the good  memories, Robin was more like a survivor of his father's ambitions than a  happy boy who pursued and fulfilled his dreams around the globe (as he  corageoulsy admits, were it for his own will, the trip would have come to  an end way before it did...). At any rate, the account is inspiring, the  story has its own special beauty, and the message is a very positive one.  Besides, it shows that if beauty is only skin deep, than a saylor's  happines can more than often be tide pool deep. Good reading for any  Slocum-to-be.
P.S. Like many othe readers, I too am curious to know of  their whereabouts these days.
3188547
We have been cruising for the past 10 years and with each sailing we learn something new, whether from other passengers or reading books/online resources beforehand.  This book was a great reminder of many of those lessons learned...all in one humorous and informative location.  Thank you.
4740683
Good read especially for a seasoned sailor.  Any number of the harrowing experiences should discourage the dreamer from actually attempting to duplicate this feat.
Although at times his descriptions are too long, I skipped very little and quite eagerly read right to the end.
1978384
This was an enjoyable read. No doubt some details are questionable but that's understandable if you've ever kept a log. Would have like more details on the boat...like what brand, where she went after the sail, etc.  All in all we who sail have experienced many of the same situations sans the girls!  Hat's off to Richard for living to tell about it. Take if for what it is and enjoy the ride.
1136117
A nice read for people interested in the voyages
of the great explorers.  The author moves back and forth between stories of navigation at Sean and his own experiences on sail boats.
839269
I was intrigued by the story line of two brothers in their 20's taking a small sailboat down the Missouri and Mississippi Rivers and into the Gulf of Mexico, culminating the journey in the Florida Keys. The author makes up for lack of polish with enough insight and humor to keep the reader turning the pages, entranced. A boat trip often strains relationships. He explained the methods they used to cope with trip and relationship challenges while weaving in a story about their Uncle Billy's depression and drinking problem. Their adventures were chronicled in a journal-like fashion, with interspersed reflections on the past, making for an enjoyable read. But the lapses in grammar were obvious, frequent, and distracting. This book makes a good case for the importance of input from a good editor prior to publication.