The Sea Is Not Full

by Doane, Charles J.

(1 customer review)

CAD $31.95

This eclectic sailing narrative combines accounts of dramatic boat abandonments and a cruise up a West African river with practical advice on learning to sail, navigation, heavy weather tactics, and other nautical topics. The free-ranging author also waxes philosophical on ocean sailing, human evolution, theology, and profiles notable sailing personalities he has sailed with, including Don Street and Jimmy Cornell.

ISBN 10: 0997392037
ISBN 13: 9780997392036
Pages: 356
Published: 2017
Format: softcover
Category: .
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1 review for Sea Is Not Full

  1. Bruce Conron

    The bookends to this collection of blue water experiences over three decades begin with the author crewing on a catamaran on its maiden voyage as its electrical system and integrity of the hull start to break down, and the other end has the owner, his wife and the two crew members abandoning ship to be rescued by the USCG some 300 miles east of Cape Hatteras. In between are a number of his “revelations and misadventures,” the former including advice on heavy weather seamanship and the science of sextant use (backed up with excellent illustrations in both cases), the latter due to Doane’s propensity to sign on as crew with eccentric skippers more often than not. These accounts are enhanced with profile drawings of the boats involved, a note about their attributes, and specifications. Along the way you will encounter the legendary ocean cruiser/author Don Street. Jimmy Cornell, the impresario of trans-Atlantic cruising regattas, and understand the veneration Doane has for Bernard Moitessier. One of the most engaging stories is the cruise in 1996 abroad his yawl Crazy Horse into the heart of the west-African nation Gambia, which is essentially a river flanked by low hills populated by slightly more than a million people at the time. There is no shortage of sailing misadventures to be listened to or read about. In the post mortem to the abandon ship referred to at the top, Doane says “it is a fine line that separates those exploits that are worthy of admiration from those that should be condemned as foolhardy, and often no one can be certain where that line should be drawn until well after the fact. One thing I know for sure is that it is a line we must each draw for ourselves.” The book ‘s title is taken from a verse in Ecclesiastes, 1:7.

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