This is the True story of my Family Adventure and Disaster that was the best thing that ever happened to me! The number, 6692 is the date, June 6th '92, when an event that taught me the most valuable lesson of my entire life took place. My memoir follows my young family's adventures after we abandoned our secure, comfortable and meaningless existence in suburbia to follow our dream. This often humorous account, relates how we unwittingly bought a jinxed yacht, watched it smash itself to pieces and with no prior experience, skills or training rebuilt it, sailed away, rediscovered paradise, punished betrayal, found ancient treasure and survived sharks, crazed lemurs, gossiping walruses, a lynch mob, a curse, explosive gas, flaming epoxy and oozing quicksand. It also relates how, in answer to my prayer, we lost everything we owned and experienced heart-breaking generosity that altered our lives and welded our family even closer together. The book explains why we celebrate June 6th every year as Pisces Day with a family meal of Prawns and Rice. It also reveals why and how I tried to commit murder. After several short stories (based upon opening chapters of this book) reached the finals and were published in a daily newspaper's annual True Short Story competition, I was inundated by requests from readers for the rest of the tale. Despite encouragement from family, friends and total strangers to write this book, I refused to do so for almost twenty years whilst I waited for someone that I tried to murder -to die. During that time it remained trapped inside me like the key log holding its fellows prisoner within a logjam. I hope this story will appeal to readers of true adventure or travel, cruising sailors would-be sailors, dreamers and adventure travellers. Similarly it should appeal to anyone who dreams of escaping from their self-made prisons but perhaps lacks the courage or will to actually do it. Women in particular may identify with the multifaceted heroine, a strong female who is simultaneously my wife, lover, partner, best friend, a mother and our anchor. Although 6692 Pisces and the Sailfish will perhaps resonate with those who experienced the final years of Apartheid in South Africa, it should also be of interest to readers who would like to learn a little about some of Africa's amazing people and exotic cultures. Unlike many of the sailing accounts I have read, it does not dwell upon technical aspects of sailing that are meaningless to the average person and especially to me who is branded a heretic by most sailors when I tell them that sailing is the price I reluctantly pay for the time I enjoy anchored safely in a new port.? Finally although I vowed that I would never own another boat, I currently find myself building another one together with my now grown up family. Our Journey, our adventures and those of the fascinating people we have met over the last two years are already well on their way to populating the sequel to this book; 2nd Time Lucky.
About the Author: I have been chaotically married for over three decades to my amazing wife Anne who bore me three miracle children. After repudiating my psychology degree in the mid-seventies I served my mandatory National Military Service in a top-secret and clandestine Electronic Warfare unit stationed in Rhodesia, for which I received a military medal. During the eighties, at the height of Apartheid, together with (then illegal) "black" partners I built a successful manufacturing company which I later sold to buy the yacht upon which I was shipwrecked together with my family. After returning destitute to South Africa, I rode a ripple in the dot.com wave and later cashed in my Internet start-up in order to distribute rare organic Madagascar chocolate. Currently, our family resides high off the ground amongst the branches of a Casuarina tree while we work together to build another yacht. I am also writing several books that have as a common denominator, my love of history and my belief that fact is stranger and far more interesting than fiction.