Cape Horn: One Man's Dream : One Woman's Nightmare

Rating:
Summary: Painful, but still worth the read.
Review: After the first chapter, I was convinced I had finally met a sailing book I didn't like. I just didn't have the heart to stay with a few hundred pages of what appeared to be self indulgent whinning by the author herself about her husband, written some nine years after the event and done seemingly as self therapy. But I'm glad I stayed with it, because the story of the couple's nightmarish voyage through the Straits of Magellan (weather was only half their problem) did rivet the attention. In the end, though, this is a hard book to recommend, either to another guy, because he will feel like he's attending a self-help group about marital relations, instead of reading a sailing yarn and by no means to a woman--for whom this book has the power to truly terrify.

Rating:
Summary: A very personal and emotionally-honest book of survival!
Review: I recently had the privilege of meeting Reanne and her husband, Don (and knowing absolutely nothing about her book beforehand). This book was written in such a way that you almost feel as if YOU'RE experiencing everything - you feel like you're in Reanne's mind during the whole adventure. I couldn't put the book down. This book gets into the brutally honest nitty-gritty psychology of how people react to each other during normal times as well as life-and-death crises. Reanne tapped into and shared her most intimate thoughts during the most critical time of her life. Reanne told me that when she tried to get this book published years ago, the publishers wanted to her fictionalize the story and that it was too emotional and too psychological. Wake up publishers! Survival IS a psychological situation! As a sailboater, I totally admire and respect Reanne for what she went through and for "not selling out to the publishers" and sticking to the truth of their adventure, through her eyes. Reanne, you're so awesome!

Rating:
Summary: A very personal and emotionally-honest book of survival!
Review: I recently had the privilege of meeting Reanne and her husband, Don (and knowing absolutely nothing about her book beforehand). This book was written in such a way that you almost feel as if YOU'RE experiencing everything - you feel like you're in Reanne's mind during the whole adventure. I couldn't put the book down. This book gets into the brutally honest nitty-gritty psychology of how people react to each other during normal times as well as life-and-death crises. Reanne tapped into and shared her most intimate thoughts during the most critical time of her life. Reanne told me that when she tried to get this book published years ago, the publishers wanted to her fictionalize the story and that it was too emotional and too psychological. Wake up publishers! Survival IS a psychological situation! As a sailboater, I totally admire and respect Reanne for what she went through and for "not selling out to the publishers" and sticking to the truth of their adventure, through her eyes. Reanne, you're so awesome!

Rating:
Summary: A fascinating read
Review: This woman's very personal account of voyaging with a driven husband should be read by all couples who are thinking about a cruising life. Hemingway-Douglass describes her fears and frustrations as she and her spouse sail from California to Easter Island and then attempt to round Cape Horn. A giant wave flips the small yacht end over end, causing extensive damage. The two hardy cruisers struggle to survive several harrowing days before they find shelter among the Chilean islands. Hemingway-Douglass is a frank and vivid writer, describing people complete with their warts. Her descriptions of the people who inhabited Easter Island at the time of her voyage are particularly telling. The only negative here is the poor quality of the photographic reproductions. The maps may require some readers to use a magnifying glass.

Rating:
Summary: A fascinating read
Review: This woman's very personal account of voyaging with a driven husband should be read by all couples who are thinking about a cruising life. Hemingway-Douglass describes her fears and frustrations as she and her spouse sail from California to Easter Island and then attempt to round Cape Horn. A giant wave flips the small yacht end over end, causing extensive damage. The two hardy cruisers struggle to survive several harrowing days before they find shelter among the Chilean islands. Hemingway-Douglass is a frank and vivid writer, describing people complete with their warts. Her descriptions of the people who inhabited Easter Island at the time of her voyage are particularly telling. The only negative here is the poor quality of the photographic reproductions. The maps may require some readers to use a magnifying glass.