Three Years in a Twelve-Foot Boat [Paperback]

Stephen G. Ladd (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: September 1, 2000

This is the true narrative of a middle-aged poet who rows and sails a featherweight wooden boat through nineteen countries - 15,000 miles - to relive his youth and savor adventure. While courting disaster in some of the Western Hemisphere's remotest corners, he records nature, cultures, and his own emotional processes.

Editorial Reviews

Review

One of the most fascinating, well-written voyage accounts we've ever read, easily on a par with old Josh Slocum himself. --Latitude 38

From the Publisher

Bent on discovery, Ladd ranges from Montana to a harrowing sail along the pirate-ridden coast of Panama and Colombia, across the Andes, down a 600-mile river by night to avoid guerrillas, to the Antilles and the Caribbean. Robbed, capsized, arrested and befriended, he sails and rows through a tumult of uncharted adventures.

The cast of characters: Dieter, mad ex-Nazi on a desert island; Hans, the smuggler who disappears at sea; castaways, prostitutes, and fortune seekers.

Stow away with a poetic storyteller on a stormy, soulful voyage through nineteen countries, on the razor's edge between freedom and fear, loneliness and love.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 390 pages
• Publisher: Seekers Press (September 1, 2000)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0966933737
• ISBN-13: 978-0966933734
• Product Dimensions: 9 x 6 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.1 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (23 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #235,253 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #14 in Books > Sports & Outdoors > Outdoor Recreation > Sailing > Narratives
  • #21 in Books > Travel > Specialty Travel > Solo Travel

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

13 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Wish I was there!, October 19, 2000

By 

"puppypokey" (Northcountry) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Three Years in a Twelve-Foot Boat (Paperback)

If you have read Don Starkell & sons' famous book "Paddle to the Amazon", you'll love this one.

Here, Stephen Ladd builds his own boat and then spends a few years exploring around the Earth in it!

The book is well written. Appropriate balance of humor, story telling & introspection.

Readers are definitely left with ideas of boat designs and adventures floating around in their own heads after reading Ladd's account!

If you enjoy reading about people enjoying life - this is a must!

14 of 16 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars This is a classic on real travel and individualism, April 17, 2000

By 

K. Johnson (US/Asia) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Three Years in a Twelve-Foot Boat (Paperback)

I highly recommend this book. This is a fascinating story. One that makes you feel you are right there with Stephen Ladd on his journey to experience a part of the world in his personally constructed boat "Squeek." Not only did I take this trip with him while reading this book, I also became envious, knowing that I lack the creativity, stamina, and courage to ever do what he accomplished. A traveler who is individualistic, well-read, and an exceptional writer, his journey is a must read for all. I think many Americans caught up in their current lifestyles today could gain insight from this book. I hope that Stephen Ladd sets out on a journey like this again someday. How about it Steve?

8 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent adventure!, January 29, 2000

By 

Brian Cavanaugh (Wilmington, DE) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Three Years in a Twelve-Foot Boat (Paperback)

Three Years in a 12 Foot Boat starts out with the author designing and building his own design wooden rowing/sail boat. His travels down through the Missouri and Mississippi rivers are only the beginning. His journey along the Pacific coast of Panama and Columbia have him fighting large waves in a boat he was just starting to realize its limits. His capsize off the coast of Columbia has him laying on the top of the upside down "Squeak", wondering if he would survive. His travels across South America are dangerous and humorous at times. He describes his driving trip as a companion across Columbia at night where traffic comes to a halt and everyone just goes to sleep in their cars, still sleeping long after traffic cleared, leaving him to try to awake the drivers ahead. His writings about the people he meets and his motivations to continue on with his trip provides insight into his reasons for embarking the on three year trip. Highly recommeded.