"As a sailor who raised his daughter aboard, I was touched by this book. Litzow writes from the heart." - Cap'n Fatty Goodlander, sailor and writer
When marine biologists Mike Litzow and Alisa Abookire decide to follow their dream and sail from Alaska to Australia, they agree that they won't leave until their son, Elias, is one year old. But when he is just ten months old, they give up waiting, strap him down, and set sail.
In his deeply personal account of their trip, Mike tells the story of the stress and exhilaration, the closeness of family life on board, and the fierce beauty of the open ocean. Demonstrating a moving affinity with the wildlife, people, and cultures encountered along the way, this is the inspirational tale of a family afloat in the Pacific.
"A book that speaks to both sides of the brain simultaneously and without contradiction…prose so beautiful, and with such a dose of self-deprecating comic relief, that you yearn to be there with them." - Cruising World
"Mike writes well and with utter honesty about the sometimes overwhelming sense of responsibility he feels when he and his partner Alisa take a toddler to sea. He clearly shows the stress this places on their marriage and how it is balanced by the rewards they and their slowly maturing son reap. Essential reading for anyone contemplating voyaging with very young children." – Lin Pardey, author of Storm Tactics Handbook, Self Sufficient Sailor and Bull Canyon
"Litzow is a talented writer…evocative and powerfully visual." - The Age (Melbourne)
"Eminently readable." - The Sydney Sun-Herald
When marine biologists Mike Litzow and Alisa Abookire decide to follow their dream and sail from Alaska to Australia, they agree that they won't leave until their son, Elias, is one year old. But when he is just ten months old, they give up waiting, strap him down, and set sail.
In his deeply personal account of their trip, Mike tells the story of the stress and exhilaration, the closeness of family life on board, and the fierce beauty of the open ocean. Demonstrating a moving affinity with the wildlife, people, and cultures encountered along the way, this is the inspirational tale of a family afloat in the Pacific.
"A book that speaks to both sides of the brain simultaneously and without contradiction…prose so beautiful, and with such a dose of self-deprecating comic relief, that you yearn to be there with them." - Cruising World
"Mike writes well and with utter honesty about the sometimes overwhelming sense of responsibility he feels when he and his partner Alisa take a toddler to sea. He clearly shows the stress this places on their marriage and how it is balanced by the rewards they and their slowly maturing son reap. Essential reading for anyone contemplating voyaging with very young children." – Lin Pardey, author of Storm Tactics Handbook, Self Sufficient Sailor and Bull Canyon
"Litzow is a talented writer…evocative and powerfully visual." - The Age (Melbourne)
"Eminently readable." - The Sydney Sun-Herald
