A Drop in the Ocean

by Jasna Tuta, Rick Page

Tales of great heroism and daring at sea are all well and good. But this isn’t one of them. Totally free of hyperbole and exaggeration,  A Drop in the Ocean  is an honest and genuine account of what it is really like to cross a very big ocean, on a very small sailboat, for the very first time...When you raise the sails and head into the unknown, you take on the most fascinating challenge of your life. But you also embark upon a voyage of an entirely different nature. As the initial fear of the unknown slowly gives way to the daily rhythm of life at sea, something entirely unexpected happens. This book is one woman’s attempt to describe the nature and effect of this subtle transformation.

Praise for A Drop in The Ocean

A Drop in the Ocean is a book for anyone curious to read an honest account of how challenging, inspiring, and ultimately rewarding it can be to venture across the open water with only your vessel, experience, and wits to guide you. Along with describing the realities of exhaustion, seasickness, and bruises, Jasna also interweaves moments of magic and this why her book is so important. A Drop in the Ocean doesn’t romanticize an ocean crossing but shows both its difficulty and also its enchantment. These are the pleasures of ocean sailing that can only be experienced firsthand or read about in books like Jasna’s. The beauty of the ocean is not just found when the wind and waves are perfect and in the right direction, but in what the sea forces you to do when they are not. Jasna’s personal realizations and her final sense of achievement are a straightforward, honest, and accurate portrayal of a first time ocean voyage.

There are still places in the world that many people will never visit, like the famed islands of the South Pacific and luckily there are also still people in the world adventurous enough to travel across an ocean by sailboat to experience them firsthand and share those stories with us..

Charlotte Kaufman, Author, sailor and founder of Women Who Sail.

Genres: Nonfiction

166 pages, Kindle Edition

Published December 6, 2018

About the author

Jasna Tuta is a Slovenian primary school teacher born and raised in Italy. She has always had a strong connection to the sea. At six years old, she took her first sailing course and she has been on the sea in one form or another ever since. At 29 she gave up a safe job to chase the horizon and bought a one way ticket to the other side of the world. In Australia she met Rick who introduced her to the sea gypsy life. Together they sailed in Australia, Mexico, French Polynesia, Tonga and Fiji. She decided to fund her travels by taking advantage of the writing talent that runs in her family blood (her late grandfather Alojz Rebula wrote 60 books in his life and is regarded as one of the best Slovenian writers, her mom Alenka is also a prolific writer, her book Feeling Blessed is a national best-seller). To date, Jasna has published over 100 magazine articles totaling over 350 full colour pages, 94 radio shows, over 100 paid newsletters and countless blog posts. She writes mainly in Slovenian, but occasionally also in Italian and English. She has been published by important titles like: Cruising World, Practical Boat Owner, Bolina and Nautica.
While in French Polynesia she and Rick were featured in the popular Ben Fogle’s program, New Lives in the Wild (season 4, episode 4). This is an hour long documentary about their life aboard and has been shown worldwide and translated in many languages.
She has written three books so far. The first one is a how-to guide that she co-authored with Rick, titled, Get Real Get Gone. It has been one of the best-selling sailing books on Amazon for over two years now and Tom Cunliffe included it in his list of essential reading material in his book, The Complete Yachtmaster.
In 2016 she released her first book in Slovenian, called, Moj svet sredi oceana, the account of their 32 days long Pacific crossing. The release was followed by 27 interviews for national television shows, radio stations, magazines and newspapers. Her book tour included over 25 book signings with an average of 100 people attending each.
In 2018 she published the English version of the book, called A Drop in the Ocean. One year later she has published All the Colours of Polynesia.

Reviews

[Steven Jankowski · Rating 5 out of 5]

Praise to Jasna Tuta and Rick

Thoroughly enjoyed this follow up to “Get Real, get Gone.” Felt like I relived my similar journey from Los Angeles to Hive Oa. I can only hope that my near future plans of cutting my dock lines and reliving the journey that I find someone as formidable and vivacious with the passion and fortitude as Jasna. I am truly envious of Rick. And I sincerely hope I cross watery paths with them someday.
A great read. Thank you!

[Amy · Rating 5 out of 5]

Just finished this book (and read Jasna Tuta’s husband’s book last week), and it was wonderful! I read it in 2 days. Inspiring but down to earth, it was a fabulous book that I’ve already begun recommending to friends. If you haven’t read it yet, it won’t disappoint. ♥️

[Mamareads · Rating 5 out of 5]

Well described sea adventures

I really enjoyed the clarity the writer gives to the actual event of sailing for over 30 plus days. Descriptions as to what foods to bring, the birds and sea creatures, storms and rainbows all bring this journey to be admired and appreciated

[Erik · Rating 5 out of 5]

Descriptive

I really enjoyed the story of the sail across the ocean. Knowing that nothing is easy it was wonderful to hear how you overcame all your trials. It makes me want to set sail and enjoy an ocean instead of the Great Lakes.

[Bruce Forrester · Rating 5 out of 5]

Terrific read.

I enjoyed reading this book as well as Jasna's follow up book. What a wonderful escape for those of us who live boring, uneventful lives trapped in the rat race with no chance of ever experiencing the amazing life of off shore sailors.

[Ernie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Good book

I really liked this book, sailors or sailor wannabes as well as non sailors will enjoy the ups and downs of cruising on a sailboat. This review was written by artificial ignorance😏

[Jennifer Silva Redmond]

I was transported by this book

I've been sailing and writing about my sea travels for over 35 years, and I've found very few books that truly convey what it is like to travel by sailboat. This is one of the best.

[Sebastian · Rating 4 out of 5]

Again a sailing book. I love the good ones, and this is a good one.

[Ian & · Rating 4 out of 5]

Nicely done

Great book. Carried me away just when I needed it.
Looking forward to reading Get Gone. It’s been in my list for some time.

[Debra G · Rating 5 out of 5]

The real deal



Beautiful book lovely flow. I sailed the Pacific on Calypso and never left my home. I can't wait to read her other books.

[Carrie L. Allen · Rating 5 out of 5]

The Best Sailing Memoir!

I have read many Sailing stories but Jasna has really made this one Special. It's far more interesting than any I've ever read.

[Kenneth P. · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great simple adventure

I really enjoyed this adventure and it only took a night to read. It kinda lacks excitement but makes up for it in the realism of the amazing voyage.

[Ajda · Rating 5 out of 5]

Inspiring, reading it was a wonderful journey filled with love for the sea and life.

[Polona · Rating 5 out of 5]

Krasna knjiga.

[Rebeka · Rating 5 out of 5]

It's beautifuly written and I enjoyed every word of it. There were moments my eyes were watery, not because of sadness but because of understanding. The way Jasna describes her love for ocean/sea/water it's just beautiful and she somehow manages to capture all those feelings and describe them using the exactly right words, which I, for some reason never can.

But don't get me wrong, this isn't romanticized. It's raw and brutal and Jasna doesn't only describes the beauty of sailing the ocean, she's also completely honest about the problems they have on the journey such as seasickness, exhaustion, storms and rough sea, damages on boat,... but as she said, in the end it's all worth it.