Customer Reviews

Voyage Of The Capricorn Lady: Lost At Sea With Daniel T., Book I

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

 

 

There once was a magical place in a magical time that really existed--life aboard charter yachts in the Virgin Islands. Those of us who connected with our hearts spent years there, enjoying our vagabond lifestyle of taking guests for a week or more on cruises throughout the U.S. and British Virgins. My husband and I built our 57' (75' overall)gaff-rigged schooner, Satori, in California. We arrived in the V.I. in 1976, and chartered until 1991. I remember first meeting Capricorn, and Dan and Judi. I was amazed at how much they loved chartering their yacht, even though they had no personal space to speak of and scheduled an amazing amount of charters. I knew them socially over the years as friends, but never knew the history of their life together, which she retells in total honesty. I cringed when reading about her daughters ashore on their own in St. Thomas (especially at such a young age), Dan's accident, the previous owner trying to steal back their Trumpy, and other vignettes. I laughed at some of the charter guests and skipper's tales--having 14 years of my own stories which were so similar. I ached for her loss of her adored husband, as my own of almost 40 years has had health issues, which also may be related to the building and maintenance of our boat. But mostly, I delighted in her logging for prosperity a time, place, history, and lifestyle that was living aboard and chartering. The other reviews mention the editing, which is a distraction, but that does not negate the positive historical accuracy of this view. As to her justification of leaving their families for each other, who are we to judge one another? She is not the only charter cook I knew of to do so. I am blessed to have met my soul mate when he was first considering building a boat, and being there from the onset of our lives and adventures. Those people who messed about on boats were, and are, a unique breed. Bruce and Laura Masterson chartered when we did, raised a family in California, and went back to the life on Amaryllis. It is an experience like no other. My many friends from that time and place are still my dearest friends. As my husband Ed said, "We do it for the love, the money is just a souvenir." Read both books, in order! Gabrielle (Gay) Thompson

Mrs. Gilman grabbed me from the start; she has wonderful storytelling ability. Judith tells us of her life, her adventures and her love. Judith describes the landscape and the weather so accurately, to many of her travels I have been. It is her ability to describe her adventures and her feelings that are remarkable. Their bohemian lifestyle was not so strange back in those days, how awesome that she kept a log that enabled us to relive her adventures. She takes us through her romance with her Captain; she acknowledges her decisions, wrong and right.

I met Mrs. Gilman travelling through Oregon, so I knew of Daniels outcome but even then I was captivated. It is her love story that touched me so; a once in a lifetime opportunity. I couldn't put the book down and I can't wait to read Book II.

I enjoyed much of this story but the terrible editing was distracting. Was this book even edited or proofread at all? There were subtle things that perhaps only the most discerning eye would catch, but even more annoying were the blatant errors such as missing punctuation, which I hate to say occurred more than a few times in this book. Also, there were lots of inconsistencies - like someones name spelled one way in one chapter and then in a different way in a different chapter. Confusing. Also, this is only Book 1 - I would have loved to hear the rest of the story but that's too much of an investment in my time for only an okay presentation of the material. A good editor could've shaved off some unnecessary details and combined the stories into a far more compelling book.

And if, like me, you're considering it primarily for the anecdotal sailing information, you will learn about the pros and cons, and the joys and pains of living on a boat from this book....but if that's all you're interested in, there are probably much better resources, like a years subscription to any sailing magazine.

Back in the mid 1990's, my wife and I decided we wanted to be charter boat owners in the Virgin Islands. We searched for the perfect boat and found one for sale that looked exactly right...Capricorn Lady. It was for sale and we wanted it. We had been renting boats from VIP Yacht charters for a while and decided to visit Dan and Judi the next time we went down there. They were delightful people and we really enjoyed meeting them and seeing the Lady and becoming friends. (They even visited us once in Lake George, NY, when they were travelling in their bus.) As soon as we got back home, we put our house and 37' boat up for sale and arranged financing to purchase the Lady. Unfortunately, it took 2 and a half years to do so and we found that we couldn't make the offer that Dan and Judy were looking for. Since our home and boat had been sold, we moved to Florida and started a new life there.

I followed the fate of Capricorn Lady on the Trumpy web site over the years and found out it had been sold and moved to Florida. But I had no idea what had become of Dan and Judi. I saw where the yacht had had an extensive refit and then was destroyed. I was devastated! Then I discovered Judi's books.

What a wonderful story she has written! It was great finding out their "back story" and the amazing adventures they went through. I laughed, I cried, I was fulfilled knowing all that had happened to them. And I made contact with Judi again after many years.

Her two books are impossible to put down. Do yourself a favor and read them. You will feel like you know them and wish you could have spent time with them wherever they were. Thank you Judi for sharing your stories with us. I hope to see you again one day.

Interested in the sailing lifestyle? Skip this book. Looking for a trashy romance novel? This may be the one. Written like an 8th grade girl's diary (a whiny one)with a weird beginning and then a flashback approach. A woman cheats on her husband (and daughters) with a married man( who also has children)....eventually marries this man because of a "vision". Their Florida real estate company makes TONS of money and she complains about paying child support and alimony. The real estate company collapses under mysterious circumstances(sound familiar)....they steal their boat after is has been seized and sail off to the Bahamas to hide out. They somehow survive with no visible sources of income. They completely drop contact with most of the children...the two teenage girls who come to visit are allowed to 'co habit' with boys on various islands.

It was great bed time reading.

This book is terrific and very well written. It's hard to put down, and the author has a terrific command of true story telling, honestly describing her life, even revealing intimate embaressing events. You will savor every page and want to read everything by this author.

Who wouldn't be a little envious of Judy and Dan living a life of love and adventure at sea? They had the courage to take a chance and make it work. I enjoyed the details of their charter business, both the good times and the challenges. The book is written with honesty and love. One gets the sense of the true love story here. Having lived the safe corporate life, I really enjoyed living vicariously through Judy's tales of their adventures.

There are a few editing issues in the book, but it is easy to overlook those and get lost in the story. I would highly recommend this book for anyone looking for an interesting read. If you ever wished your own life had a bit more adventure, or were curious about what life on a charter boat in the 1970's/80's was really like, these true life stories are for you.

After reading Voyage of the Capricorn Lady Book II FIRST, I had to find Book I, so I would be able to read the rest of their story.
After reading about the author and her Captain, their union, disolving of the business, families torn apart,starting over, near death experiences, whole different way of lifestyle, survival, I felt like I was part of it all. The good, the bad and the ugly.
What an interesting look into the island life. Unbelievable how creative and inventive the Captain and his first mate really were.
Some of us go through our daily ho hum routines just existing, while others dare to really LIVE!
Capricorn Lady shows you how far passion, determination and survival instincts can take you.
In this world "there are casualties and there is understanding".
My thanks to author Judi for a great read, an interesting adventure!

What a great book!! I couldn't put it down. I love books about the sea and was expecting a good story but this far exceeded my expectations. This book is about life - and is written with such candidness that it makes you feel as if you know these people. I loved the honesty and can't wait to read the next book by this author!!

My mother-in-law recommended these books because she had a connection with the author and I am so glad she did. The books (book one and two) or so well written and so fun to read. I'm not a sailor or boater of any kind, but still enjoyed all the details of what it took to sail a boat and charter a boat. The realtionship Judi had with her husband comes across the pages so well. I highly recommend these books, they are especially a good read in the summer time!