A story of storms of emotions and oceans, travel, love and relationships, and two people figuring out life and fulfilling their need to move and be challenged.
They knew this moment would shape the rest of their cruising lives.
With their incurable curiosity and desire for adventure, they sold all their belongings and flew to America in search of a boat.
The pull of the ocean was too strong to ignore any longer. Four years prior, they circumnavigated the globe on their thirty-three foot boat, Mariah. Now they wanted a new challenge.
From the perils at Pitcairn to the grand statues of Easter Island, Jackie and Noel set sail south to the remotest inhabited island in the world.
Along the way, they lose a friend and come nail-bitingly close to losing their new boat, but they gained so much more: a voyage that left them breathless from fear and a journey of not only travel but of two truly nomadic gypsies.
This is a story of storms of emotions and oceans, travel, love and relationships, and two people figuring out life and fulfilling their need to move and be challenged.
Excerpt
Will it be Enough?
‘I think it’s what we should do.’
Leaning on the sink, I stared out the kitchen window. The sulphur-crested cockatoos broke the silence with an ear-piercing squawk.
‘While we’re young and fit enough,’ Noel continued.
Rainbow lorikeets flitted between the plump maple trees that were dominating the postage-stamp garden behind our cottage in Greenwell Point, New South Wales.
Was I ready to leave all this again?
Could I pack up our life’s possessions and leave the stability of owning a house and living in a small community?
We’d done it before, but I was in my twenties then.
Would it be vastly different in my forties?
Was Noel right? After all, what is life for if you’re not wringing out every last drop?
‘Come and have a look at this boat – it’d suit us.’
Twisting from the stainless basin, I peered into the interior gloom and waited for my eyes to adjust. I raised my eyebrows at my grinning husband who sat with confidence by the computer; he knew I’d agree. I wasn’t going to say no to a new escapade; but another sailing adventure? I’d had my heart set on exploring Europe by barge.
Walking towards my buddy and his aura of excitement, I rolled my eyes. Convincing me was easy, and the flutter of anticipation stirred my stomach.
‘Will it be enough?’ I asked, thinking of all the sailing miles already under our belts.
‘Enough? Enough! You don’t think buying a boat in a foreign country, preparing it to cross oceans, and sailing back to Australia is enough?’
‘That’s not what I meant.’
‘What do you mean, then? You know it’s not an easy task.’
Professional Reviews
Living Life On A Sailboat
Jackie is a marvelous writer! I had read her other books and this one did not disappoint me, it was as good or better than the others. The bottom line is she is a very good story teller. You can see the story unfold in your mind as she narrates the story. I was pleased to be asked to beta read the book, lucky me. This is a "must read" if you like exciting stories and learning about living on a boat. This life would not be for me, so I love reading how other people live and what motivates them. EXCELLENT BOOK.
Most of us dream about someday sailing on a blue ...
Most of us dream about someday sailing on a blue ocean and exploring out of the way places and islands. That said, most of us carry-on 'nine to five' and let slip the oppertunities. As a Beta review reader, I was privileged to read the original manuscript, warts and all. I have to say I was enthralled from beginning to end which is no mean feat for an engineer! As such I found the content very informative and also technically interesting without being nerdy but it was the descriptive passages of far away places that really hit home. Jackie and Noel dare to be different and take the reader on a roller coaster ride of experiances and emotions throughout their action packed voyage. I actually started to regret the impending end and wanted it to last longer. Hats off to these intrepid adventurers which show us all an alternate way of living. Oh well back to work tomorrow or maybe I should search the net for an old yacht to do up! This book is certainly an inspiration to do so.
Like her other books
I was lucky enough to be a Beta Reader for this new publication from the talented and awe-inspiring Jackie Parry. Like her other books "This Is It" doesn't disappoint, it is action packed with adventure on the high seas and at some of the world's most remotest islands, places which many of us can only dream about visiting yet alone contemplating getting to in our own boat. Jackie and her husband, Noel, learn a lot as they travel, about their new boat, the rules and regulations required to enter different countries, their amazing surroundings and the people who inhabit them, how to remain strong and focused in the face of storms and not least of all about themselves. This tale is much more than a book about wonderful places, it is about life and living. It made me laugh out loud, it also made me cry, had me perching on the edge of my seat as the elements relentlessly attempted to impede their journey and at the end, left me wanting more. "This Is It", shows us by pushing ourselves to the limit we can achieve great things and overcome all that life and the elements throws at us. Well done Jackie, a great read.
(Richard M. Feldman) Ever since I was a young boy, the only thing I wanted to be was a cowboy. I wanted to own and work on a real ranch, with cattle and horses. Especially horses.
While I never became a cowboy, considering everything I have done
TRUE STORY. Bella survived an abusive powerbroker father with organized crime ties, a drug-addicted mother and a physically/sexually abusive brother. Shocking & inspirational. When she couldn't cry, she tattooed a crying angel to cry for her.
She never felt safe at home as a young girl, and didn't understand why when she finally escaped she wasn't safe in the big wide world either ...effectively jumping out of the frying pan into the fire!
