Yes, Part I and Part II is an inspiring account of a husband and wife exploring the world by sailboat. Join them as they visit Kuna Indian villages, Bali temples and Tahitian ruins. Explore South Pacific islands where 18th century shippers exploited sandalwood, mother-of-pearl shell and Mokomokai - preserved Maori heads. Learn how Tongans bury their dead, how Australian Aborigines create some of the world's greatest art pieces and how South African farmers produce the distinctive pattern of raised bumps in ostrich leather. How is the black-lipped oyster, Pinctada maxima, manipulated to produce highly valuable pearls in French Polynesia, the main global supplier of Tahitian black pearls? Ever-ready to embrace challenge, the couple treks bat infested caves, views an active volcano from the rim of a crater, explores subterranean catacombs and dark, mysterious lava tunnels. In French Polynesia, they wade rivers and traipse jungles, stumbling upon ancient sites of ritual and sacrifice. In Vanuatu on Malekula Island, home to some of the world's last megalithic cultures, the couple joins a village festival for two days of music and kava drinking. Searching for a 1940s artifact, the adventurers scuba dive the famous passenger liner, S.S. President Coolidge, shipwrecked in the South Pacific Ocean. Sailing through some of the most dangerous waters in the world, sails tear apart, rigging lets go and anchorages become hazardous when nearby boats drag from their holdings and crash into them. A Coastguard helicopter lowers a rescue officer to their aft deck, an unidentified armed vessel circles their boat while sailing at night through waters known for drug trafficking. Immersed in adventure, enlivened by fascinating stories, the author writes with compassion, wit and humour. Yes, The World Is Round, is a story of incredible challenge and perseverance. Author reveals favourite accommodations and restaurants: back packer dormitories and award winning resorts; Caribbean beach bars and signature dining by world renowned chefs. Adventure diving, hiking and not-to-be missed attractions.
Author Biography
Raised in a rural southwestern Ontario tobacco town where local watering holes went by the names of Big Creek and Quance's Dam, Donna took up sailing with her husband Mike in the 1970s on Lake Simcoe, located an hour north of Toronto. Never having sailed before, Mike and Donna purchased an 18 foot Nova Scotia built day sailor which they used to discover the basics of sailing. Their interest in the sport, lead them to exploring the Great Lakes, Georgian Bay, the North Channel, Vancouver's Gulf Islands and Newfoundland's North Atlantic Ocean. Weekends and holidays were often an adventure for the family of four while visiting forts located around Lake Ontario and roasting marshmallows on White Cloud Island in Georgian Bay. They continued to purchase larger boats to make longer journeys and in 2004, they set off from England in an Oyster 56 with no real plans other than to explore the Mediterranean Sea. But discovering travelling by sea was to their liking, they adopted a lifestyle of water gypsies and eventually visited the fi ve continents of the world. Now having completed seven ocean passages and 50,000 nm, Donna shares the couple's experiences while circumnavigating the world. Donna is the author of articles for both magazines and newspapers. She is one of thirty-seven female members of the Cruising Club of America and is the recipient of the John Parkinson Memorial Trophy awarded for Transoceanic Passage. Yes, The World Is Round, Part I: England to Fiji; Part II: Fiji to the Caribbean, are her fi rst books. yes_the_world_is_round_PT1_press-ready_v9 - August 22, 2017 8:27 AM - verso
