Living the Dream: Sailing the South Pacific and Southeast Asia [Paperback]

Vern Madison (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: August 10, 2005

About our BookLiving the Dream is the true-life adventure story of our seven-year cruise from Newport, Oregon, to Phuket, Thailand in the 35-foot steel-hulled sailboat, Tainui. This book gives a true picture of what it's really like for a retired couple to live their dream of full time cruising to far away places: the highs of beautiful sailing days, snorkeling off pristine coral, anchoring in tropical lagoons, exotic cultural experiences, and the fellowship of the cruising community--but also fear in storms, the exhaustion of sleepless night watches, discouragement of endless boat maintenance, and a rusting through of Tainui's hull. Although we wrote Living the Dream for a general audience, serious sailors will find a wealth of helpful cruising information and steel boat owners will profit from our significant learning experiences in our maintenance of Tainui's steel hull. About usWe began our lives far apart--Connie in parts of Californis that were far from the sea and with no aspirations to cross oceans and Vern in the busy seaport city of Seattle dreaming of sailing away some day. We eventually met at the University of Washington, married, started or family and careers--Vern as a social worker and Connie as a teacher. It was our four years of living with our family in Malaysia while Vern was on the staff of the Peace Corps there that sparked our desire to one day be full time world travelers. Order a personalized autographed copy of our book directly rom us by e-miling us at [e-mail]. We will send you an order form. ($16.50 plus actual shipping cost). Or order your copy from Author House be clicking the "buy now" button.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

About UsWe began our lives far apart--Connie in parts of California that were far from the sea and Vern the seaport city of Seattle. We enentually met at the University of Washington, married, and started our family and careers. In between regular jobs one year, Vern took a short-term job on the staff of the Peace Corps in Malaysia where we lived for four years with our three chrildren. Our Peace Corps experience eventually led our dream of one day being full time world ravelers--we would nolinger be satisfied with being ordinary tourists. So, 16 years and five sailboats later, we took early retirement from our jobs--Vern from social work and Connie from teaching special education--and sold our house and cars. We then had no monthly bills, two modest retirement incomes, 15 years of recreational sailing experience, and a paid-up heavy displacement world cruising yacht. With no schedule and no time restraints we were free to go wherever we wished, stay in a place as long as we wanted to, and continue travling as long as it was still fun--which, for us, was seven years. Never before or since have we had that wonderful sense of freedom and excitement--we were truly living our Dream! We wrote Living the Dream together to encourage others to live their dreams and to show as clearly as we could what it is really like to do it in a modest sailboat..

Product Details

• Paperback: 384 pages
• Publisher: AuthorHouse (August 10, 2005)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1420838180
• ISBN-13: 978-1420838183
• Product Dimensions: 8.8 x 5.6 x 1.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #986,796 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

10 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Everyman & Everywoman Accomplish the Impossible, February 2, 2007

By 

Shelby "rubyvern" - See all my reviews

This review is from: Living the Dream: Sailing the South Pacific and Southeast Asia (Paperback)

Hard work, sleepless nights, a little terror - then, you lose sight of shore. This book offers nuts and bolts (pun intended) reportage of the hard journey of retirees Vern & Connie from the U.S. Pacific Northwest to and through the South Pacific. Romantics and idealists be warned. Exactly how much work is involved in do-it-yourself sailing across the world? Read this and find out, but if you're interested only in star-gazing and spine-tingling adventure, this won't be the book for you. The clear descriptions of their route and obscure landing points - which now, thanks to Google Earth, can be tracked visually - provide a solid South Pacific geography lesson.

The authors reveal what an amazing feat and test of courage it is to go that distance in a 35-foot sailboat. Just don't forget your screwdriver, engine manual, washers, fuses, and extra light bulbs.

After reading it, you might wish you could sit down and chat with Vern and Connie. Your first question would probably be "Would you do it over, knowing what you know now?"