I’ve never been on a boat smaller than a ferry or
larger than a speedboat. Therefore, sailing from Long Island to Australia on a
fifty five foot catamaran sailboat is probably something I’ll only ever read
about. Reading this week’s challenge, travel memoir Black Wave by John and Jean Silverwood, pretty much ensures that.
Experienced sailors, John and Jean, set out to
fulfill a life-long dream when they boarded their new sailboat, the Emerald Jane, along with their four kids
(ages 14, 12, 7, and 3).
Encounters with pirates, John’s alcoholism, and shady
dock dwellers were balanced out by amazing sunrises, swims with dolphins, and
lessons only the sea could teach their children about navigation and hard work.
Little did they know their trip would be abruptly
shattered by a coral reef near the Polynesian Islands. Jean tells the story
from her perspective and astutely begins with the page-turning event of the
journey – the shipwreck.
Knowing how the trip ends, but not the outcome, I
was turning pages at a furious clip. I
found the description of the trip’s preparation fascinating and enjoyed
(vicariously) the idea of living on a sailboat and living off the fruits of
various islands. (Homeschooling and sharing close quarters with five other
people seems less appealing.)
Despite the nail-biting disaster that befalls
them, the book does have a happy ending – a must for an armchair traveler that doesn’t
have the solace of a pina colada to soothe frayed nerves.
No comments:
Post a Comment