Thursday, September 4, 2014

Sailing With Rhyme & Reason - A Book Review



Wow!  I really don't know where to begin.  I guess I'll start with acknowledging the virtue of K's advice not to read this book until we'd been out Cruising for a while. We received our copy as a Bon Voyage gift from the author and his wife.  Had I been of a more faint-of-heart type woman and not the spearhead of our Cruising venture, this book might have turned me against it!

I've always wondered why there seemed to be only books fanning the flames of cruising dreams and not so many that doused them.  Well, here it is baby!

Bob and K Jack are friends of ours from home who were former cruisers.  They cruised around Mexico and even bought a home and lived there for a while after their cruising career was done.  It was for this reason that I was very interested in their story, as I've always thought it would be a neat thing to find a spot we like and just stop cruising there!  But that part isn't in the book so let's get back to the Cruising part...

It is much easier to be objective about a book when not personally acquainted with the author and characters.  I guess I was predisposed to love it, thinking it would be a reflection of the people I knew.  I had no idea that this book would be such a raw and candid peek into the lives of Cruisers who did NOT find cruising to their liking.

There is no candy coating, no sweetness at all.  Just the stories that led the couple inevitably back to their home port, with all future dreams of continuing on as cruisers dashed by their memory of their sailboat,  Rima grinding on the coral reefs of Mexican waters.

Normally if I don't like a book, I don't do a review... so that means I must like it, right?  Confused?  I loved the book!  Bob's writing style, the way the book is set up, the short introductory vignettes...  I love it all.

Bob's humor and candor are infectious and although cruising didn't really work out for them, this book is WELL worth the time to read it... which isn't quite long enough.  I read through it in a day because I just couldn't put it down.  It is full of unexpected little phrases that are so clever and funny, I'm seeing Bob in a whole new light.

And as for K... this is her.  Read this and you'll know her.  She is the kindest sweetest most tenderhearted woman I've ever met.  You'll fall in love with her quiet strength.  You won't be able to help being affected by her part in this story.

I've always respected Bob and his sailing ability.  After reading this book... I have doubts about my own ability to navigate the waters of the Western Caribbean.  How could we find success if THESE two didn't???

The intro to the book on Amazon says everything that I haven't... If sailing in Mexico, Belize and the Rio Dulce are in your future, it's kind of pricey but this book is a must read.  It's the real deal.  How is it that all Sea Stories begin?  This is No Bull Shit!


No comments:

Post a Comment