Bold Sea Stories (21 inspiring adventures)

Who doesn't love a good sea story? Historically, tales of great adventure and derring-do have always been on best-seller lists. In Bold Sea Stories, award-winning journalist Marlin Bree writes about the legends and lore of the world's wickedest waters, from the North Atlantic to the South Pacific, as well as upon (and in the dark depths) the world's biggest inland ocean, Lake Superior. With a mariner's insight and delight, he tells 21 rousing true-life tales of notorious storms, shipwrecks and doomed crews fighting incredible challenges and undergoing transformative inspirational beauty. If readers have ever stood on the beach and looked out over big waters and wondered what was really out there, this is the book for them. The nautical nonfiction tales are specially developed from the author's award-winning magazine and newspaper articles, all told told with a master mariner's insights and with an emphasis on quick pace, full-bodied tales with dramatic narrative, strong characters, and an inspiring conclusion as well as now and then, no dry eyes. Imagine sailing into a storm at sea in a 10-foot homemade boat while attempting to cross the Pacific Ocean. Or surviving 100 mph. winds alone in the open cockpit of a small sailboat as the storm of the century hits? Or the incredible ordeal of an old man who launches his open boat to search for a lost friend as a horrific ice storm descends? (His inspirational ordeal and courage earned him a Carnegie Medal.) Or come aboard and join the crew during the last hours of the doomed ore carrier Edmund Fitzgerald. Or don SCUBA gear to dive into black, chill depths to find a Civil War era schooner sitting on the bottom, fully intact and appearing ready to sail away. Can it be brought up? Bold Sea Stories are short, punchy, and easy to read. Nautical terms are explained in the context so that even a non-boating enthusiast can understand the action and appreciate what is happening, including how a boating disaster is overcome. Some stories end with cliff hangers; others are O-Henry like. The 21 individual stories range in reading time from about 15 to 25 minutes, perfect for a vacation "beach book" or onboard reading in a favorite bunk on your own craft. Some of the stories are set aboard the author's own homemade boat, Persistence, as he pokes about the wild north country's waterfront, meeting grizzled boat builders, retired tugboat captains, and intrepid amateur explorers who share their incredible adventures. In his sailboat, he finds an underwater silver mine, a wilderness untouched by humans, and a wild inland ocean: Lake Superior. In the wild North Country, he finds dreams and a drive toward inspirational adventures, which he brings as an award-winning maritime author to Bold Sea Stories. Come aboard for adventure and inspiration and sometimes, nary a dry eye in the house.