By the Grace of the Sea : A Woman's Solo Odyssey Around the World [Hardcover]

Pat Henry (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: August 9, 2002

On May 5, 1997, when Pat Henry anchored her 31-foot Southern Cross sailboat in Acapulco Harbour, she became the first American women to sail around the world alone. At 56, with two adult daughters and three grandchildren, she is also the oldest woman in the world to have done so. Her voyage began in 1989 and took her through 40 countries, 27,000 miles and eight years. Her longest passage at sea was her first, 36 days from Acapulco to the Marquesas Islands in the South Pacific. Sailing without sponsorship and with little money, learning as she went, Henry encountered storms, near collisions, fatigue, equipment failures, uncharted reefs, health problems and weeks of solitude in her voyage. She supported herself by selling her watercolours - one reason the trip took so long. At her nadir in New Zealand, down to her last $3, unable to sell paintings, she abandoned herself to despair and considered ending her life by stepping off the boat. But this resourceful and resilient sailor also found beauty, diversity, romance and a network of friendships around the globe. Her solo circumnavigation is a triumph to rival Joshua Slocum's -the prototype for all that have followed. Henry's adventure began with the collapse of her import business in 1988. In debt and suffering a crisis of self-doubt, she moved aboard a 21-year-old sloop to live frugally in Santa Cruz harbour while working in a shoreside graphic arts studio. But Henry's wanderlust soon propelled her out of the harbour for a "brief cruise" to Mexico, and then, impetuously, onward around the world, never fully realizing the magnitude of her undertaking. A voyage of eight years cannot be written as a continuous narrative. Rather, the manuscript is a rich tapestry woven from discrete, chronologically sequential episodes like those in the attached writing sample. Several recurring elements - the author's letters to her friend Kitty; brief, dated logbook entries; and brief transcripts of the Voice of America broadcasts that brought the momentous events of the world into Henry's cabin in midocean -give structure to the narrative. So, too, do the maps that open each of the book's seven sections. Buoyantly adventurous by nature, Pat Henry is also a good storyteller and an admirable protagonist. There is good travel writing here, informed by an artist's eye and an observant student of human nature. Her best writing is in her descriptive passages, whether of people, a marketplace, or a tropical anchorage. Her story will require careful editing for continuity and transition, but the end result promises to be a winner. Illustrated, full-colour endsheets show photos from the voyage as well as several of the vivid waterclours Henry painted of scenes encountered along the way. These delightful paintings tell the reader much about the storyteller.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

With a bankrupt business, pending lawsuits and an audit by the IRS, Henry had plenty of reasons to hit the deck. In 1989 she set sail aboard the 31-foot Southern Cross and traveled the world. Eight years later Henry returned to Acapulco, Mexico; at 56, she became the oldest American woman (not the first, as the book jacket erroneously reports) to complete a solo circumnavigation. Over the course of this memoirish travelogue, Henry emerges as an artist, creating original watercolors of the coastal villages she calls home, mounting exhibitions in galleries across the globe and earning enough money to support her sailing. She also develops a deeper understanding of herself. Indeed, Henry may well be construed as a shining example of midlife reinvention, an inspiration to woman wishing to put aside the past in pursuit of a dream. Unfortunately, Henry's narrative lacks the requisite arc and flow of a compelling story. Full of mundane details (including what she ate for breakfast, the contents of her pantry and her latest book selections), the writing feels slow and weighted. Endless laments about her failed business, unlucky love life and strained relationship with her daughter fine fodder for a private diary feel cliched and tiresome when issued for public consumption. Occasionally, Henry peppers the text with anecdotes about the political history of each region, serving to right the sinking ship. Watercolors and b&w photos not seen by PW.
Copyright 2002 Cahners Business Information, Inc.

From Library Journal

Henry, the first American woman to sail 27,000 miles solo around the world, left Acapulco in her 31' sailboat, Southern Cross, on May 4, 1989, and returned eight years later on May 5, 1997. Except for approximately two years intermittently exploring some of the 40 islands and countries en route, Henry spent her time navigating treacherous waters and endured gale-force winds, high seas, equipment and navigation failures, and the constant, frightful prospect of nighttime collision with behemoth cargo ships. In log-book diary form, she recounts the encounters and events of her long journey-first to Polynesia and the Coral Sea, then through the Malacca Straits to the Arabian Sea and onward to the Red Sea, the Mediterranean, and the North Atlantic, until finally she threads the Caribbean homeward. The narrative is garrulous yet informative and evocative, but the editorial decision to substitute original letters for creations that "reflect closely the nature and content of real letters" compromises its authenticity. Still, this tactic neither diminishes Henry's accomplishment nor detracts from the interest this memoir will generate. For most public and large academic libraries.
Lonnie Weatherby, McGill Univ. Lib., Montreal
Copyright 2002 Reed Business Information, Inc.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Hardcover: 388 pages
• Publisher: International Marine Publishing; 1St Edition edition (August 9, 2002)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0071355278
• ISBN-13: 978-0071355278
• Product Dimensions: 9.3 x 6.2 x 1.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.7 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 3.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (18 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #991,880 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #85 in Books > Travel > Specialty Travel > Solo Travel
  • #100 in Books > Sports & Outdoors > Outdoor Recreation > Sailing > Narratives

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Authentic inspiration, for those with wanderlust, October 19, 2002

By 

"katfern" (Marina Del Rey, CA USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: By the Grace of the Sea : A Woman's Solo Odyssey Around the World (Hardcover)

This book is an inspiration to all of us with wanderlust and dreams of sailing across an ocean in a small boat. Over and over in Pat's book you get the feeling that " Maybe I can do this too!" Her extraordinary feat and her search for answers to life's biggest questions start from failure, self doubt, and financial disaster. She proves that you do not have to be rich, or a world class athlete ,to accomplish the most extraordinary dreams.

This book is a good read, and it rings true.

The heartfelt authenticity of the writing takes the reader beyond the nuts and bolts of gear, equipment and weather. Pat shows us what it feels like out there on the ocean, in a personal and real way.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Definitely mixed feelings about the book, December 10, 2005

By 

Cutedeedle "CDJ" (Whidbey Island, WA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: By the Grace of the Sea : A Woman's Solo Odyssey Around the World (Hardcover)

I share both sides of the reviewers here. On the one hand, Pat Henry had great courage to undertake a solo trip around the world in a fairly modest boat. The multitude of things that went wrong -- Murphy's Law in action -- were indeed quite a trial for Pat. That alone makes for fascinatingly horrible reading. I've done a lot of sailing in the past, I've read several books on "blue water" cruising (including "Passage to Juneau"), and I would say this book is unique. The basic premise is admirable, Pat did manage her world sail tour, but she *is* the most whiny, self-absorbed, self-pitying, hapless person that you'll read about in the world of sailing. Geez, that was the first thing that struck me upon finishing the book! I don't think Pat was really prepared for such a voyage -- not financially, emotionally, nor psychologically. Reading this book is almost a "how-not-to" instruction manual, and it's also like coming upon the scene of a terrible auto wreck -- you can't look away and you can't leave until you learn the outcome.

5 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Pat thinks as many of us do, but her actions are much bolder, October 13, 2002

By 

Stu Marty (Normal, IL USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: By the Grace of the Sea : A Woman's Solo Odyssey Around the World (Hardcover)

What an amazing and surprising journey I began when I opened By the Grace of the Sea and began to read. By the close of the first chapter I was fascinated with this author Pat Henry -- who she was, where she had come from and where in the world was she going. That's exactly where she was going, and to see the ports and people through her sensitive, often passionate words was a wonderful experience. I have never been in the ocean, or even sailed on a sailboat. I have never been abroad, and I am not an architect, artist, or even a woman, but I was amazed at how often I easily identified with the thoughts and feelings Pat sprinkles through her book.