Small Boat To Freedom: A Journey of Conscience to a New Life in America

Pay with

About Small Boat To Freedom: A Journey Of Conscience To A

Product Description John Vigor had it all: a loving family, a remarkable career as a columnist syndicated throughout South Africa, and a comfortable home in Durban, one of South Africa s most beautiful cities. But an apartheid regime, and a clampdown by government forces on the people s freedom of expression, made John decide to leave the life and country that he loved. Together with his wife and seventeen-year-old son, John prepared to give up their life of security and contentment and voyage to America aboard their thirty-one-foot sloop, Freelance. Small Boat to Freedom details a journey of conscience and courage that took John and his family from Durban, past the aptly named Cape of Storms, around the treacherous Cape of Good Hope, and across the open Atlantic and the equator to a new home in the United States. After making land in Florida, John and his family eventually made their new home in beautiful Washington State, sailing the waters of Puget Sound. Review A well-written and thoroughly enjoyable book, Small Boat to Freedom is no mere sailing story. The interweaving of South African politics, the history of the places visited, and the emotions of their departure add much depth to this tale. , Sail Magazine Small Boat to Freedom is a heartfelt chronicle of escape and rebirth and will appeal to anyone who has ever been inspired to chuck it all and slip away on a high-seas adventure. An absorbing chronicle of how the Vigor family tests its resolve and skills in (a) serious ocean cruise to escape from their homeland, all the while remaining painfully aware of the not-insignificant fact that they have no jobs waiting (for) them when they reach their destination in America. , Ocean Navigator Talk about dramatic exits. British writer Vigor and his family didn't leave South Africa for America just by buying plane tickets, but by boarding a 31-foot sloop and sailing across the Atlantic. This is the account of that improbable journey, and it's a compelling read, if rather belated. It was 1987, the old regime was crumbling, violence was rampant, and Vigor figured his family had lived through enough. It's that background of a dysfunctional nation, and the people trapped within it, that gives the book its unique texture. The work's simple honesty is beguiling. Vigor seems to have absorbed the rhythms of the sea in his pacing: mostly gentle, occasionally bracing and leaving readers exhilarated for the experience. , Publishers Weekly About the Author John Vigor is a former managing editor of Sea Magazine and the copy editor for Good Old Boat Magazine. He has contributed numerous articles and photos to Cruising World, Sail, Yachting World, Good Old Boat, Practical Boat Owner, and many other maritime publications. He is also the author of eleven sailing books, including The Practical Encyclopedia of Boating, Boatowners' Handbook and Small Boat to Freedom.. He lives with his family in Bellingham, Washington.