A Voyage of Determination

by Anne Belovich

While living aboard my 40 foot ketch in San Diego harbor I fell in love, got married, moved ashore and regrettably, but according to my new husband’s wishes, I sold my beloved boat. Several years later when I learned that it was for sale in New Zealand I bought it back. This is the story of how I bought a used sextant, learned to navigate, got a small, all-male volunteer crew together, flew to New Zealand and joyously sailed for home. My optimism was soon confronted by the harsh realities of crossing such a long stretch of open ocean in a small boat. Standing a watch in the middle of the night in a cold wind with waves crashing over the stern and sweeping the full length of the boat was not what I had pictured.

148 pages, Paperback

Published May 28, 2019

Reviews

[Lucy Briggs · Rating 4 out of 5]

I actually discovered this book through Ann’s floral work, but found I hard to read it for the story of sailing from New Zealand back to San Diego! She is someone who seemed to live 100 lives in one, so I was very eager to hear her perspective on life. I am not much of a sailor, so 90% of the technical jargon when over my head. It did not detract from the story, though I imagine it would enhance your experience to have more context for the ups and downs of her trip if you did have more sailing knowledge. That being said, I loved Ann’s writing style - she was self aware, matter of fact, and entertaining. I felt like I was right there with her and her crew throughout the entire journey. It wasn’t planned, but I happened to read this during the time of year that she took her trip, which made it even more fun to follow. It felt so inspiring to read about the great feat of sailing across the pacific and how Ann and the crew handled the hardships and troubleshooting. Somehow they sailed 5000 nautical miles and Ann managed to fix the engine, the sails, and other parts of the boat numerous times while also making 2-4 loaves of bread a day?? Incredible.