Customer Reviews

Sailing Promise: Around the World on a Catamaran

5 star:		(10)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(4)

 

 

I am a "sailing wife", the one who has the irrational fears even though I love the challenge and excitement, the one who does not have the mechanical prowess to fix the engine or come up with an ingenious solution to failed rigging. Although my husband and I have limited our cruising thus far to Lake Ontario and the St Lawrence, we plan to frequent more exotic cruising grounds in our future. I found this book to be incredibly inspirational and comforting. I was looking for a book that would tell the story of what it is really like to cruise the world, and this book provided extra's I was not expecting. Alayne not only provided a glimpse into the unimaginable beauty of remote locales and their people, she also conveyed the growth in herself and in her relationship with her husband that I can already relate to in smaller scale cruising. By the end of this book, Alayne and Alec Main became heroes to me. In the beginning, I relished this book selfishly. But I found that I could not contain myself from sharing Alayne's adventures with friends and family. My husband is reading it now, interested to learn more about what I am going through in our escapades. Friends who have never even sailed have asked to borrow the book, as well, proving that this is not a story that would be of interest to sailors alone. Bravo to Alayne for having the courage and strength to publish her story for anyone who dreams of cruising the world, but especially for the women who love their husbands and love sailing with them.

As we have embarked on our own sailing adventure;both my wife and I having read"A SAILING PROMISE", the accounts of Alayne and Alex aboard Madeline.We come away with an insite into cruising that we had never before discovered.The presures and pain of relationships on land are difficult enough;throw in a circumnavigation and the plot thickens.We both found it a solid read that paralleled our own dreams of far horizons and exoctic cultures.From a mans point of view I can only suggest, all skippers read this book to preserve their own sanity ;when we can't quite understand why our fist mates do what they do. It could only have been written by a woman. I'm glad she did.From page one on you are lead along and have a hard time putting it down ,with a need to know what is ahead. We loved it and put it right up ther with Tania Aibe's "Maiden Voyage" another great read.

This book was a major disappointment, after reading the reviews and excerpts I waited anxiously for it to arrive (as we - my husband and I are looking into doing a similar adventure on a similar boat). I wanted to know how she as a woman handled her fears. Unfortunately she never did, infact it is page after page of whining. Pity her husband, who had to deal with both storms and a crying, sobbing hysterical wife at the same time! This book is a waste of time, money and paper.

Now the book - Voyage of the Northern Magic was wonderful, the author of this book was a real trooper, brave smart and insightful. Forget Sailing Promise if you want an uplifting, inspirational book. It left me shaking my head and reaching for asprin.

Alayne Main writes descriptively (and reasonably well) about her personal experiences and fears while traveling around the world with new husband Alec on their catamaran Madeline. The narration, initially interesting to those that might be contemplating a similar voyage, degenerates into a litany of whines and emotional outbursts that make for somewhat tiresome reading. (Pity me on my trip of a lifetime!) Alayne makes it clear that the dream to sail the globe is her husband's, not hers, and any strength or determination displayed in the journey is rooted not in self-confidence or a bonafide thirst for adventure or experience, but in marital obligation. It's Jacques Cousteau meets Oprah Winfrey on the high seas. Will the boat or the marriage end up on the rocks first? That the voyage is completed successfully -- despite Alayne's plethora of fears, emotional neediness, and lack of mechanical skills -- is a testament to Alec's patience and genuine care for his wife. (One wonders if Alec will publish a companion book of how to still enjoy oneself while cruising shackled to an irrational killjoy.) Overall, the thrill-seeking, wannabe-sailor reader will certainly reconsider any romantic notions of sailing off into the sunset with their spouse or partner, and perhaps contemplate a solo voyage instead.

I thought that the author did a good job of putting us all in the cockpit as they sail the world. However, while this book may recieve 5 stars from husband/wife teams who love to hear endless stories about the ups and downs that sailing can have on a relationship and on a persons mental health, for me it was more of a soap opera than a sailing book. While the mental aspects of both crew and captain should be heavily discussed in such a book, this one lacked any shread of detail about (1. the different cultures visited, 2. SAILING THE WORLD IN A CATAMARAN) My main objective was to hear about the plausibility of sailing the world in a Cat.. To be honest, I would have tossed the author overboard within the first 2 months of the trip.

Alayne Main wrote this inspiring and exciting tale with an almost painfully honest eye. It is really about two trips - both of them fascinating and entertaining. Trip one is about two novice cruisers completing an unconventional circumnavigation in an unconventional boat (a catamaran - hooray!). Trip two details the changes and compromises (familiar to many couples) that take place when you have two distinct personalities moving towards the same goal. The photographs are excellent and are actually located right in text that pertains to them (why is this so rare?). Alaynes insights about many things, from scoffing at slavish adherence to "conventional wisdom" to intricate relationships with cruising friends, are priceless. This one is a true winner.

Both men and women will benefit from reading this book about sailing around the world and the differences between men and women in their perceptions, reactions and coping with the unknown. This book really helped my husband (who loves adventure, sailing and isolation) understand my fears and my need for outside friendships. We both laughed at the similarities in our experiences with those of Alayne and Alec in coming to terms with being two separate people trying to compromise and work together. This isn't just a book about sailing - it's a book about making loving relationships work at the worst of times. All couples (sailors or not) will benefit from reading it. I loved the frank and honest way it was written. It took a lot of guts to write about their experiences in this way.

I was anxious to read this book initially because it is one of the few (if not the only) books out there that follow the voyages of a catamaran around the world (as opposed to a monohull). Even though the title entices 'Around the World On A Catamaran" - the book itslef does not offer any information on the vessel and how voyaging on a cat differs from traditional monohulls. Aside from that disappointment, I had to wade through the drivel and whining of the author's fears and her bad marriage. I found her insights on the voyage not only poorly written and uninteresting - but sadly - it also encourges the negative stereotype of women as reluctant and inferior partners in the sailing dream. Untrue. I really feel this book offers nothing new to those seeking insights on traveling under sail around the world. And it reads more like a bad marriage consuling transcript in exotic locales. Skip it!

I really enjoyed this book. I am fearful of water and I found Alaynes determination very inspiring. Not only did she have to deal with her fear of the unknown, but her husband was no help when her fears were at their worst!

This lady showed great courage by continuing with the trip and constantly working on her fears and keeping her marriage afloat. Hats off to Alayne! Thank you the book was inspirational to me.

Many people dream of sailing off into the sunset and think only of warm water and blue seas. Alayne Main tells us the real story of a couple starting out with no experience and learning the hard way that its not all sun and sand. They have to face the redefinition of their roles in their new relationship as skipper and mate. I liked as the book progresses through this, and into a phase where both Alayne and her husband are happy sailing, and begin to appreciate the world as a competent team!

Many exotic and far-flung places are visited in this book. I feel I know much more about the Pacific and Indian Oceans and so many exciting locales. A good read for both armchair travellers and people who might someday consider sailing off into the sunset.