Five Fair Rivers: Sailing the James, York, Rappahanock, Potomac, and Patuxent

by Robert de Gast

"Good-humored, observant, and knowledgeable, Robert de Gast is an ideal cruising companion on the historic rivers of the Chesapeake's lower Western Shore. In an unconventional small boat with a four-inch draft, he takes us where few other sailors can. Five Fair Rivers will delight all who love Tidewaterland." -- John Barth A devoted sailor, Robert de Gast takes his inspiration for these trips from Captain John Smith who, while exploring the Chesapeake in the early seventeenth century, found himself mesmerized by the magnificence and unexpected charms of the bay's "fayre and navigable rivers." Travelling in Smith's wake, de Gast records the details of wind and sail, landscape and water -- always with an eye toward how things differ from what greeted the captain almost four hundred years ago. Five Fair Rivers captures the beauty of unspoiled stretches of marsh, shore, and isle; the luxury of dry socks; and the pungence of the air surrounding the Westpoint, Virginia, paper plant. Here is an adventure that will appeal equally to sailors and arm-chair travelers alike.

184 pages, Hardcover

First published July 1, 1995