Our Adventures On Board Samana (English Edition) [Kindle-editie] beoordelingen het boek quotes

‘Our Adventures On Board Samana’ is a journal of a family’s three year sailing adventure through the Caribbean. It takes you along with us on our travels from Charleston, SC to Grenada, and back, over the course of three years. This voyage was a lifetime dream come true, and I was lucky enough that my husband, and our two children, shared the same Caribbean sailing dream.Our adventure began after a three week summer sailing vacation in the British Virgin Islands. It was initiated when our children exclaimed, as we walked through the door of our house, “we’re ready to go back. You see, our cat and dog are just fine”. We spent many months researching sailboats that would be comfortable for a live aboard lifestyle. We chose a very beautiful and ‘beamy’ Jeanneau 50, with three large cabins. Three months later, we were on our Bahamian adventure. This lasted only five months, as a strong hurricane chased us home.Just six months later, we decided to try it again. We sold our house and cars and took off. This time we fulfilled our dreams. We started in Charleston, SC and island hopped our way through the Bahamas, then down the island ‘highway’, successfully navigating our way to Grenada.Along the way, we experienced set-backs and some intense weather conditions, including riding out a hurricane. Surviving these events made us stronger. Lucky for us, we had far more good weather experiences. We met many wonderful and interesting cruisers and islanders along the way. After visiting each of the many beautiful islands, we discovered how different and unique each one was. Come along with us on our journey and discover the wonders of the Caribbean, as experienced through my eyes.About the author-Mercedes Geentiens Sykora grew up in Charleston, SC. Her love for sailing, art and the water bloomed during those early years. As a teenager, she was a sailing instructor at many of the area’s yacht clubs and for the Annapolis Sailing School. She also spent weekends sailing in local regattas and onboard her parents’ 37’ ketch. Summers were spent at their beach house on the Isle of Palms, and vacations and holidays were spent on Seven Mile beach in Grand Cayman, where she sailed her sunfish in their Sunday regattas. She attended the College of Charleston from 1982-1986, graduating with a BA in visual arts, specifically, printmaking, drawing and painting. She was a member of the College of Charleston’s sailing team for four years, sailing as the ‘A’ division skipper for the women’s team and also for the ‘B’ division co-ed team. The team finished first place overall at the college sailing nationals in 1986. In 1988, she received her MFA (Master’s of Fine Art) at Clemson University. Mercedes’ artwork has been purchased for many private collections around the Southeast. She was one of seven printmakers chosen for the Library of Congress Permanent Print Collection during a printmaking convention for the entire Southeast region in 1987. Her artwork has been shown in many juried exhibitions and several one-woman shows in galleries throughout the state. She has received two honorable mentions in the Piccolo Spoleto Juried art show in Charleston in 1986 and 1987. With her passion for teaching, she taught art for several art councils and for many schools in South Carolina through the Arts in Education Program.She married Ronald G. Sykora, Jr. in 1988. They have two children, Christopher, born in 1991, and Stephanie, born in 1993. To fulfill the family’s dream of visiting every Caribbean island, they set out on their two year sailing adventure. Mercedes home schooled the children and kept a journal of their family’s adventures. She found time for her artwork, which continues to reflect her emotions about the geography of the ocean. She is back in Charleston, counting the days until she and her husband return to life as liveaboards...somewhere.