5 comments about Coming About: A Family Passage at Sea.

1. Coming About: A Family Passage At Sea is the memoir of Susan Tyler Hitchcock, a wife and mother of two young children. Feeling the demands of daily life slowly pulling all of the members of her family apart from one another, the Hitchcock's embarked upon a nine-month, 3,500 mile Caribbean sea voyage in order to reconnect and discover more about the world. Highly recommended reading, Coming About biographically chronicles their adventures and life experiences with a vivid and engaging honesty which includes internal contemplations on the values of marriage, family, and togetherness.



2. My family currently owns the boat written about in the book, the Hei Tiki II, so it was interesting to see some of the voyages of the family and the boat. Susan writes as a woman who has almost no sailing experiance thrust into a long voyage at sea. She recounts how the various experiances changed her, her family and saved her shaky marriage. She tells how a long time at sea effects the attitudes of the people involved. At first it is easy to feel sorry for her, having no boating experiance but being coerced into it by her husband, but it quickly shows you the enormous strength this woman must have to cope. The tales of exotic ports of call, friends gained and lost, and stormy seas are all secondary to the story of the family. The book is subtitled "A Family's Passage At Sea," and this is what the book is really about, the family.



3. My wife & I are considering such a trip in a few years, and are reading as much as possible about others' experiences in the mean time. My advice is to skip this one (glad I only checked it out of the library...). What you get is the story of how a couple lacking in seamanship skills (yes, even her "Capt. Bligh" of a husband) and trapped in a dysfunctional marriage manage to survive 9 months in the Bahamas & Caribbean...with a graphic, poorly written "romance-novel" style sex scene every 25-30 pages or so. It all comes off as some sort of strange exhibitionism.

   I have sailed and otherwise travelled to many of the places she describes, and find her descriptions mostly on the level (although I hold Provo in higher regard than she does.) The rest of the book should serve as a cautionary tale on how NOT to do it.




4. I just finished this book and I spent the first half just loathing both huband and wife: wife for being a doormat and husband for being a jerk. Then, through the story I came to know Susan and Dave and the story of their earning each others' trust was so moving for me. Trusting each other enough to feel safe in their expressions of frustration. And to be able to slog through problems because they had to - what else were they to do? 32 ft isn't a lot. The tranformation of the kids, their willingness to have John homeschool (once they were back), their ability to work as a team and express needs without feeling bad about it. It was wonderful to read about these changes. I also loved reading about the islands, port life and Susan's learning to sail in a sink-or-swim situation. It's clear that Susan is a super strong woman who is clear in her ability to work with what she's got and understand her choices. She takes the world and makes it her own. If there's something she doesn't like, she changes it or accepts it if she cant.
   
   The kids were amazing though it was hard to see how hard they are on them and how little positive intent is not often assumed, if at all.
   
   Some folks here have given poor reviews of this book. My take on those reviews is that Susan was brave enough to expose her life and all of its intricacies so that others may benefit. it's called non-fiction i believe. And their love-making scenes, while not my taste, were real and far better than some made up, grody, milky-white-thigh-laiden romance novel.
   
   We have just purchased a cruising boat and plan to leave with our little one when she's a little older. This book has taught me some things about cruising life. Thanks Susan for the honest account!



5. The couple chronicled in this story are not perfect. If you want to read about a sugar-coated-sail-off-into-the-sunset family, this isn't for you. However, if you want an honest look at honest people with true flaws, going on an incredible adventure through the carribean you won't be able to put it down, just as I couldn't. Everything is revealed for the reader, no matter how uncomfortable it can be at times. That discomfort makes you feel as if your there with the family in the midst of those awkward moments. Most importantly, it gives me courage that my family can undertake simmilar cruises, with success... flaws and all.

5 comments about The Mini Rough Guide to St. Lucia, 1st Edition: The Rough Guide (Rough Guide (Pocket)).

1. I bought this book because I am going on my honeymoon to st. Lucia. I thought that it would give some ideas of what the island was like, and what to see there (maybe some pictures of some of the sights). Instead It gives facts for people who are not planning on going to one of the resorts on the island, ie. passports, airlines, rentals. I was a little disapionted I could have found the information in this book online.



2. I purchased this guide to use on our honeymoon (2001). Neither of us had ever been to St. Lucia before (or even considered it as a destination). This is the first "rough guide" from this series either of us had used but it proved extremely useful. I must admit I was impressed by the accuracy of the information provided and I would not hesitate to purchase another guide from this series in the future.

   While it did not tell everything we really needed to know, it definitely lead us in the right direction and helped in planning our itinerary.

   ...




3. I found the three or four maps included were not detailed very well. I was hoping to be able get better maps so I would know what to expect and how to get around.



4. I was planning a honeymoon to St. Lucia, however, this book actually made me change my mind! It included reports of Dengue Fever, documented poisonous tree sap, stated that the roads and many of the tourist sights are dangerous & rickety, and also boasted polluted rivers and waterfalls. Although I am not entirely sure about the truth of the text, I don't want to risk it and find out that the book was true. I didn't want to give it a 5 for truth telling, however, I didn't want to give it a 1 for scaring me away from the island...so I'll settle for a 3, you decide for yourself!



5. This guide could have used more updated information. In listing
   the restaurants in Gros Islet/Rodney Bay some of the restaurants
   and clubs were either closed or didn't exist. The other information was accurate like the Sulphur Springs in Soufriere
   and downtown Castries. also more pictures and detailed maps should have been included. Overall the guide was mediocre during my visit in St. Lucia.

1 comments about Stern's Guide to the Cruise Vacation 00 (Stern's Guide to the Cruise Vacation, 10th ed).

1. I was hoping this would help us learn more about things to expect on our upcoming cruise. However, it's more about the ships themselves rather than their itineraries.

No comments about Jamaica and the Cayman Islands Travel Guide.

1 comments about A Family Island.

1. A Family Island was a nice short read and very informative about the island itself. Boaters, history buffs and lovers of the sea in general will really enjoy its chronicle of how an American family came to be the owners of an island paradise and how they spent their days living and vacationing on it.

No comments about Lonely Planet Havana.

1 comments about Undiscovered Islands of the Caribbean: Burl Willes (Undiscovered Islands of the Caribbean).

1. This is a great book to come up with vacation ideas, but the book needs to be updated. There are no URLs mentioned in the contact information. About half the phone numbers are correct.

2 comments about Six Days in Havana.

1. "Six Days in Havana" is Michener's companion volume to the novel "Caribbean." Though the narrative is rather short, Michener's tradition of never failing to please holds up here, and the brevity is more than made up for by John Kings' absolutely fantastic color photos of Cuba. This volume serves both as a behind-the-scenes tour of the Cuban chapters of "Caribbean" and as the closest tour of Cuba an American is likely to get anytime soon. Perfect for the almost-complete Michener collection. (Also features a short section by Kings.)



2. I will admit right off that I am biased because, as Public Affairs Officer in the U.S. Interests Section, I hosted James Michener's stay in Havana while he collected data for "Caribbean" and later collaborated with John Kings on the photography used in the book. Despite his glowing praise for my services (page 27), Michener was an old hand at adapting to circumstances and hardly needed me to orient him. He arrived with a fixed agenda and stuck with it. We departed from the agenda from time to time as his curiosity grew and Cuban contacts of mine beguiled him. As for his impressions, they are lucid, provocative, insightful and of course superficial. To know Cuba requires years of delving into the psychology of the quixotic Cuban people and their turbulent history. Michener's kitchen Spanish was adequate in restaurants but hardly up to a good conversation. I wondered how his early masterpiece "Iberia" could be so complete without a solid knowledge of Spanish? Anyway, he asked me to take 1000 photos of Havana which I did happily under the watchful eyes of Cuban security forces. His editors selected 70 or so of mine and 12 of Kings for inclusion. (No reference to my photopgraphy is given in the book by my own request as a diplomat shouldn't be caught moonlighting for the presses). I believe Michener used them for references to his quick glimps into Cuban society. His light comments tell the tale of a tourist abroad who is infected with the aura of Cuban life under the tyrant...,excuse me "comandante en jefe" Castro. Not a bad read for someone who likes their rum with coke--better known as a Cuba Libre. Viva Michener! Comments to jerrywscott1@cs.com

1 comments about Historic Jamaica from the Air.

1. For anyone interested in the history of Jamaica, this is a real treasure trove of a book. It is chock full of photographs, historic and modern maps, and historic prints on most every page. After describing the land and people before Columbus arrived, Buisseret covers the 16th c. Spanish period, the 17th c. invasion of the English, the 18th c. plantation system, 19th c. emancipation, and 20th c. independence, often giving fascinating tidbits of information that are hard to find elsewhere.
   The modern aerial photos, by J. Tyndale-Biscoe, along with complimenting maps, of nearly every historic site mentioned are entrancing. You get a thorough tour of the island without having set foot there, along with a good overall history lesson spiced with intriguing details.
   For any student of Caribbean piracy, this is a must. Much coverage is given to Port Royal, Spanish Town, and many other sites from the Buccaneer Era and Golden Age of Piracy.
   The crown jewel of this book is the frontispiece - a reconstructed sketch map of Port Royal "as it may have appeared in about the year 1690", with streets, houses, major buildings, forts, wharfs, and landings, drawn by Oliver Cox in 1991.

No comments about Haiti: Best Nightmare on Earth.