Sailing Back in Time: A Nostalgic Voyage on Canada's West Coast [Hardcover]

Maria Coffey (Author), Allen Farrell (Illustrator), Dag Goering (Photographer)

Book Description

Publication Date: September 1996

Maria Coffey and Dag Goering embark on a three-month journey by wooden boat along Canada's spectacular west coast. Leading the way are legendary boat builders and sailors Allen and Sharie Farrell on their last voyage aboard the China Cloud. Powered only by wind and sculling oars, they take Coffey and Goering to their old haunts, places where they homesteaded, fished, and built boats. Years roll away as the Farrells recount decades of memories with passion, insight and humour.

Awards

• BC Book Prize:
  1997 - The Bill Duthie Booksellers Choice Award
  Sailing Back in Time (shortlisted)

--This text refers to the Paperback edition.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Maria Coffey and Dag Goering are an internationally renowned writer / photographer team and married couple who live on a small island off the West coast of Canada. They have recorded their real life adventures in six books which include: A Boat in Our Baggage, Three Moons in Vietnam, Jungle Islands, Visions of the Wild:A Voyage by Kayak Around Vancouver Island, and Sailing Back in Time.

Maria's writing and Dag's photography have been featured in numerous publications including National Geographic Adventure, The New York Times, The Globe and Mail, Action Asia, Outdoors Illustrated, and Sea Kayaker.

Maria and Dag run an adventure travel company, Hidden Places, through which they guide trips worldwide.

--This text refers to the Paperback edition.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 158 pages
• Publisher: Whitecap Books; First Canadian edition (September 1996)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1551104873
• ISBN-13: 978-1551104874
• Product Dimensions: 11.1 x 10.8 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2.6 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #462,339 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Great Book for Dreamers, July 10, 2000

By 

Charlie Walters (Tacoma, WA United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Sailing Back in Time: A Nostalgic Voyage on Canada's West Coast (Hardcover)

Maria Coffey's clear prose and Dag Goering's moving photographs make this a "must have" for sailors, wooden boat buffs and those in love with life afloat. Alan Farrell is a legend of the Canadian Gulf Islands, and Maria has done a fine job capturing the spirit of this man from another age. He and his life have a lot to teach us all. I find myself poring over this book in the bleak months of winter, dreaming of a place I'd rather be.

4.0 out of 5 stars Sailing Back, February 15, 2012

By 

Gary Bowen - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Sailing Back in Time: A Nostalgic Voyage on Canada's West Coast (Hardcover)

This was worth reading for me because Allen Farrell is a legend amonst boatbuilders. Building with hand tools, pieces of driftwood, boats without engines... He was kind enough to include the lines of China Cloud for others to use. Quite a kind gesture for the admirers of such an unusual and beautiful boat. The book is not about China Cloud but about the Farrells. This book tracks their history in BC and what the people and country used to be like. There are a number of replicas of China Cloud being built.

G. Bowen

5.0 out of 5 stars Sail Away with China Cloud, January 23, 2011

By 

Susan Black (Campbell River, BC, CANADA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Sailing Back in Time: A Nostalgic Voyage on Canada's West Coast (Paperback)

Each journal entry in the book brought back memories of travelling on the coast in a similarly designed twelve meter boat, also hand-built like the China Cloud. Maria Coffey's writing is such a pleasure to absorb. My husband read and I listened. Through Maria's telling of Allen and Sharie Farrell's adventures, my husband and I vividly remembered our life sailing the Johnstone Straight. Even if you've never been on the water, the words take you there in full-blown colour. Mr. Dag Georing's photos are spectacular and alluring.