Customer Reviews

Sea Change: Alone Across the Atlantic in a Wooden Boat

5 star:		(12)
4 star:		(7)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(3)

 

 

I wandered into a book store to find Peter Nichols there for a book signing, he spoke of his journey, his life before and after setting sail, he read from his book and I was glad I had the chance to meet him. I found the book riveting at times and a comfortable cruise at other times. I recomend it not only to someone who has an interest in the sea (I never did before this book) but to anyone whoever loved or hopes to love for I found it as much of a love story as a journal of the wooden ship of days goneby, now crossing the ocean. Get and read this book

Reading this book, I could easily envisage the events that were described. This is no account of survival at sea, far from the land. The last journey of Toad is a journey of reflection.

What differentiates Peter from the hundreds of other sailors bumming their way round the cruising world is his ability to open his heart and, it seems, openly display his emotions. I felt uncomfortable in some ways that he read his ex-wife's diaries through his last solo voyage, but then it was only then that he could discover part of himself I suppose.

He travelled unprepared and I think that he also travelled a little foolishly, but I also didn't get the impression that he was relying on others to save him.

I enjoyed the book and recommend it to those who enjoy reading a range of books on ocean voyaging in small boats.

A student of film who once dreamed of the ocean, I only occasionally find the solution to cut the invisible tether to the tele. Nichols's cameo on CNN sparked my curiosity, and I sought Sea Change the next day. Have you ever enjoyed an escape experience which takes you further from fantasy than toward it? Although Nichols may take us off the ground, our journey is still largely at sea level, and, for a while, below even that. His experience may read matter-of-factly in the style of a captain's log at times, yet few will be able avoid emotional ties to the sea, Toad, and J. for all Nichols's authenticity. His travelogue carries a burden of modesty, but the reader knows each time he or she picks the book up that it drips of worth. This one will sit next to my Sobel.

Peter Nichols book interweaves two stories quite well- his emotions as his marriage declines, and the story of trying to get a wooden boat across the Atlantic. Both stories are told in a very honest manner, reminding the reader that even the best sailors and partners can hit troubled waters. The sailing lore is impressive, and will give a day-sailor a new respect for long distance sailing.

I also stayed up until 3 AM to finish this very enjoyable book. Nichols writes about his nautical journey with a wry humor, and his personal one with a fine honesty and lack of self-indulgence. By the end of the book you're just about as attached to Toad as he is, and sad to see her go.

As someone who has recently taken up sailing, I also found his writing on techniques and attitudes of sailing and cruising to be interesting, quite apart from the very enjoyable vicarious journey itself.

Finally, he makes reference in his tale to other authors who sound like a good read in their own right. Can you ask more of an author than to write a good book and give you ideas for your next readings? Borges would be proud.

I stayed awake until 3 AM (on a work night) finishing this book, then lay awake until dawn staring at the ceiling thinking about life, love, loss, and courage. One of a handful of books that have moved me this deeply in my 40 years.

Here's a man who distains the daily grind, fills an engineless sailboat with books by his seafaring heroes, and sets out solo across the Atlantic, navigating by sextant, and listening to the BBC World Service on short-wave radio. He thinks about the past, tells tales of ocean races, studies photographs of skies for weather warning, meets an Azorean scrimshaw artist, and much, much more. This man writes well, is perceptive and intelligent, and confronts his troubles honestly and simply. Got to go now, my sailboat is gathering moss and mildew at the back of the garden; "I must down to the seas again, for the call of the running tide is a wild call and a clear call that may not be denied." (John Masefield)

Gentle, bittersweet journey that connects you to the author, his boat and his world. I especially loved his descriptions of the sea, clouds, shadow, wind and weather forming amorphous rooms through which he sailed, physically and emotionally, visually.

I actually discovered Peter Nichols in another one of his books, "A Voyage for Madmen", which I enjoyed immensely(read about 10 times!). Afterward I found Sea Change & ordered it from Amazon. The story is wonderful and sad, for anyone who longs to adventure, to wander and explore. Coupled with that sense of spirit is the aspect of emotional adventure and wandering we find in love. How sometimes we arent where we think we are after all. The reader is made to feel all the swells and dips of emotion where Peter and his wife begin and consequently sail together to their troubles and then his eventual decision to put the boat up for sale.It's this decision that really puts the book in motion and gives him the opportunity to clear himslef of our typical chaos of life and see more clearly what has happened to him that he couldn't optherwise see. The final pieces are the discovery of his wife's diary which contrasts his belief that all was well and shows him his relationship from another vantage point. Meanwhile, there is the voyage to sell the boat he is making and all the intricasies of survival that cuts into his introspections and reflection.Having been a sailor myself(U.S. Navy) I appreciate the necessity for companionship and the lonliness one can experience on the sea. This is a wonderful book, albeit short and quick...but arent all good books? If you enjoy this book, you definetly should pick up "A Voyage for Madmen"A Voyage for Madmen

Peter writes about his love for boats that he developed early in life from his teacher Mr. Earl; his love for his wife J; for Toad, his little wooden boat that he rebuilt and sailed for so many miles, often alone; his love for the sea; the Hiscocks; even for the Captain that rescues him (without telling the end of the story). His is a very entertaining and inspiring story, which also teaches a whole lot about sailing offshore. This is a true story with all the elements of an intense life, as real as it gets. I definitively recommend reading this book. At one point Peter is thousands of miles offshore, alone in his small boat, and taking on water at an increasing rate. Hard to put down.