Maiden Voyage
by Tania Aebi, Bernadette Brennan
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Book Summary Information
Author: Bernadette Brennan, Tania AebiEdition: Paperback
Audio: English (Unknown); English (Original Language); English (Published)
Published: 1996-09-29
ISBN: 0345410122
Number of pages: 304
Publisher: Ballantine Books
Book Reviews of Maiden Voyage
Book Review: A gripping story of raw adventure, fear and joy, and the undefeatable tenacity of a young woman's spirit.
Summary: 5 Stars
Being a sailor, diver, and adventurer with my own share of adrenaline experiences under my belt, I was just slightly awed at the sheer nerve and guts of Tania Aebi in taking on the planet in a small sailboat, all alone. After reading her riveting account, I seriously wondered if I could ever do that. More than pure adventure, this is a tale of inspiration that, hopefully, will encourage others of all ages to step out of their mundane world and into one of some risk, to heighten their life experience. Who wants to reach their twilight years and, looking back, say, "I could have done that, or at least tried," but didn't. Too late then.
The Amazon reviews were helpful and insightful, but one in particular was unjustifiably unkind. I'm referring to "Shiver Me Timbers!" by Jeff H. Minde (aka Indomitable Spirit) on August 1, 2006, on this site. To understand my letter below to him, first read his review under See All Customer Reviews. Then read Maiden Voyage, and decide for yourself.
OK, here goes:
Ahoy Indomitable Spirit!
I just finished Tania Aebi's gripping tale, Maiden Voyage, and then re-read your scathing review. Clearly, for a pipe smoking-therapist-lawyer, you're a bitter melange of would-be man and full-time misogynist. Can you get a "friends and family" discount from a shrinkologist colleague to do a proper diagnosis?
Your "Maybe I'm being unfair" has to be the understatement of the New Millennium. For a Zen dude who putters around daysailing in protected Long Island Sound, your claim that you learned as much as Tania did subjected to open-ocean storms and perils far from help is patently absurd. Granted she had problems from the get-go, and that she lacked the seasoned experience desirable for such a bold undertaking, but the bottom-line is she did it. Tania was an 18-year-old girl when she set sail to face the world and all its uncertainties. Out on the vast expanses and crowded shipping lanes she was forced to make quick decisions, get mechanically savvy fast, and take huge risks to keep going when things fell apart. All you have to do out on the Sound is hail a BoatUS tug, then suck on your pipe until they tow you in. Remember that old adage, "Those who can do, those who can't teach?" Guess where you fall.
Your unjust review is riddled with the biases of a prejudiced and life-challenged pseudo-therapist -- "really didn't like the Tania Aebi..." "I was truly infuriated at her father," "could have used less information about her various (yawn!) lovers..." "she barely shows any insight or reflection..." "her navigating skills were suicidally poor..." and on and on. My, my. And what, may I ask, do you have against lovers, which was handled in a tasteful way. Does the idea of having one make you uncomfortable? Paging Dr. Phil!
But perhaps the most asinine comment was that, after all Tania's travails, "Miraculously, she lived to tell about it." Jeff, it was no miracle. She prevailed, pure and simple, because of her own rational thinking, resourcefulness, and tenacity. If I had to be out on a sailboat in a Force 10 gale, I'd much prefer having Tania at the helm than you, which really would be suicidal.
Tania had a choice to make, and she chose the most risky and daring. She didn't have to set sail, despite her father's pressures. She could have quit anywhere along the way, and found a valid reason for doing so. To say that in the end "she's just a girl and it's just a boat" is demeaningly dismissive, and minimizes an accomplishment you could never hope to achieve.
Instead of putting down the achievements of others braver and more skilled, perhaps you should concern yourself with the cancerous perils of pipe-smoking, which will claim you faster than a rogue wave out on the Sound. And find a lover.
The defense rests.
Walt Clayton
Summary of Maiden Voyage
Tania Aebe was an eighteen-year-old dropout and barfly. She was going nowhere until her father offered her a challenge. He would offer her either a college education or a twenty-six-foot sloop in which she had to sail around the world alone. She chose the boat and for two years it was her home, as she negotiated weather, illness, fear, and ultimately, a spiritual quest that brought her home to herself....From the Paperback edition.
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