He proposed, but interrupted her response with, "Before you say, 'yes', you need to know that someday I want to have a sailboat and sail around the world." She cried. These were not tears of joy. Twenty-five years later, they went to sea. This is the story of their first year as cruising sailors, and what she learned about: weathering storms, provisioning, entering strange harbors, and how living on a small boat with one's spouse isn't the long awaited life-time honey-moon imagined by landlubbers. From December through April they made their way east from Florida through the Bahamas and into the Caribbean, sailing to windward into the prevailing easterly winds. They encountered weeks when they had to wait for a weather window, days of perfect sailing to the east, and days of tacking off shore in six foot seas. They also sailed to windward as they encountered a steep learning curve, numerous unexpected boat projects, and challenges in their relationship. If you're planning a long sea voyage with your loved ones -- then read this book. It won't provide all of the sailing or travel information you need, but it will make you smile and help prepare you for many of the experiences encountered while sailing in paradise. You'll learn some things here that can't be found in cruising guides or how-to sail and cruise books. As Barb says, "This is the stuff I didn't know I needed to know before we left." If you enjoy reading true stories of couples undertaking new challenges, travel journals, and self-discovery sprinkled with humor -- then read this book. It won't answer relevant questions of the day, but it will make you smile as you recognize yourself, your spouse, or your parents in these essays about one baby-boomer couple undertaking a journey together. Harts at Sea Sailing to Windward is comprised of the stories of their first year as full-time cruisers. It's an often funny, sometimes useful, and always honest record of their journey from Portland, Maine to Grenada. Barb Hart and her husband, EW, are still happily married, sailing aboard La Luna, and getting haircuts in exotic harbors.
About the Author: Barbara is a self-described "Maine Girl", who grew up in a small town two hours from the ocean. She has been known to speak with a real Maine accent, relate numerous useless facts about Maine, and remember when baked beans and biscuits were always served on Saturday night. A graduate of the University of Maine in Human Communications, Barbara changed careers every six or seven years and has worked as a public television producer, advertising sales executive, head-hunter, and small business consultant. More recently, she has focused on her writing, has an active blog, Harts At Sea, and has been published in All at Sea, Latitudes and Attitudes, and Good Old Boat magazines. She started sailing while dating Stew, the man now known as EW, and gradually began to share his dream of living on board and sailing the oceans of the world. They are currently cruising in the Eastern Caribbean, with plans to head toward the Azores in the spring of 2013. Find out where La Luna is now, and read about EW's and Barbara's more recent adventures in her Harts at Sea blog. Also, visit the Sailing to Windward blog, featuring photos and additional comments for each essay, as well as discussions on writing, editing, and self-publishing.