Two Books...One Boat...Two Views...One Mind

The blog has been uncharacteristically quiet for the last couple of months.  Part of the reason is that we've been sitting still in Beaufort, SC and there hasn't been much to talk about. But the real reason is that our writing energies have been going elsewhere...to new books.

It's an odd thing that each of us were writing new books separately and yet, somehow, managed to finish them both at the same time. As any of you who have written anything of any length know, those last few weeks before release are a flurry of edits and re-reads to the point that you have difficulty even focusing on the words. With each edit you think you're done, only to have a proofreader find yet another typo or formatting mistake. At long last, though, both are finished. And that brought up a whole new issue – how to release two such different books at the same time.

 I posed the question to a Women Who Sail writing group that I belong to, some of whom suggested that we should stagger the releases to allow for sufficient attention to each one. Great idea, but we wanted both books out in time for the Christmas gift giving season so there's insufficient time to do separate releases. Then there was the idea of setting up a marketing contest of sorts, allowing our readers to choose which book they wanted released first. After thinking about it, I realized I didn't want to pit our works against each other in such a way.

The longer I mused, the more I realized that the situation embodied our relationship. One of the reasons we have succeeded in cruising for so long is that we get along really well. We are a melded unit of nearly fifty years, with the kind of relationship that allows complex thoughts to pass between us with just a glance and a smile. Though we share that kind of bond, we also allow each other space to be independent characters, are happy in our own skins, and content to sit, sometimes for days, in total silence in each other's company. The new books are our individual reflections on two different subjects, reflections of two different individuals who happen to share a small boat as a living space.

Tj's is a short little book reflecting on the ways in which learning how to play a ukulele at age 63 changed his perception of the world around him. The uke was gifted to him by four of our grand kids nearly a year ago, and the book was birthed by far-ranging philosophical discussions between Tj and our eldest daughter about those changes. She – the poet writer – encouraged him to write them down, and Learning From a Uke – a small book for a small instrument was born. It's a short little book, thought-provoking and honest, that touches a bit on the difficulties of aging gracefully and the joys of learning something new at any age. It's one you can pick up over and over, each time finding something new.

My book came about because I was cleaning out and sorting the thousands of photos in my computer pictures folder the day after having another of the discussions we often have with new cruisers about how to get started. As I browsed through the photos, remembering those years of preparation prior to embarking on this adventure, many of them reminded me how easy it was to get totally wrapped up in the “how” of accomplishing it, and to lose sight of why I was doing it in the first place. I began to gather those in a folder and to write a short bit about each one. Being a writer, I wanted to capture in words the essence of this lifestyle that the photos captured so well. The Essence is a collection of those photos and vignettes that touch on what it means to me to live this life with the sea.

Both books are available in Kindle and print format; the print formats make for great holiday gifts. If you do read them, please leave a review on Amazon. It can't be emphasized enough how important reviews are to self-published writers. We also love to hear from our readers, so feedback is greatly appreciated – it's the way we learn to write better, and learning something new to improve yourself is always a welcome thing.

We hope that you take from them as much as they have given us in the writing of them.

Book Review - Sailing A Serious Ocean

A good thing about being jammed up in Oriental for a couple of weeks is that our copy of John Kretschmer's new book "Sailing A Serious Ocean" caught up with us.  A disclaimer first; Deb and I have sailed with John on Quetzal, been to his house and had dinner with his family, and have recommended friends sail with him as well.  He is a friend.

John is in his world of sailing what I used to be in mine of aviation; a hard core professional who has earned his way, up close and personal, in a vast, sometimes violent, potentially lethal environment.  He has survived close calls with skill and an iron determination to never give up ... leavened by a little bit of luck.  He has written several books. I have read and enjoyed them all.  But this last one is a step above.  His writing skills are a match for his sailing expertise.  For those of us who are new to his world, or are working to join it some day, "Sailing a Serious Ocean" is a "must read" for gaining solid advice about what kind of boat it takes to face big water on its own terms.  John's opinions on the boats, equipment, sails, and gear are hard earned, offered without excuses by a man who has nursed all kinds of boats through all kinds of conditions.  Some of the boats, and some of the gear, were barely up to the task.  It is good to know of these things before one casts off the lines to join him "out there".

When it comes to what it takes, as a person, to face the sea on its own terms, "Sailing a Serious Ocean" is more than a must read; it sets a new standard.  John's candid tales of his own experiences, the times he should have made a different decision, are also offered without excuses.   The events he - and his crews - had to face as a result of those decisions are a revelation.  In my world of aviation a crisis normally lunges, proves deadly or is handled in a matter of seconds or minutes or, at most, tens of minutes, and passes by with the adrenalin still coursing though your veins.  In John's world the crisis builds to a crescendo that may last for hours, or days.  The sky will kill you quick and dead, but the ocean will break you first, attempt to disassemble your boat from under you, batter the crew to exhaustion, wear out the resolve to keep going ...

Yet somehow "Sailing a Serious Ocean" avoids making the realities of going to sea in a small boat sound terrifying.  Instead of scaring off the hopeful sailor John leaves the impression that most of us can do this.   He learned to find his way.  The hundreds of people who have sailed with him often stepped up, did what had to be done, and learned to find their way.  And we can learn to find ours.  His love for ocean, for the challenge, and for the rewards of sharing his world with others glows from every chapter.  The side bars on sailing weather, navigation, boats, and gear are the information every cruiser is seeking.

It is a serious ocean.  John is a serious sailor.  And this is a serious book.  But it is also a great read and should not be missed by anyone looking to do a serious thing.