A shipwreck might end a dream of circumnavigating the globe. Not for the Wilcox family.
In 1973, the Wilcox family sets off to sail around the world aboard the 40-foot sailboat, Vela. Thirteen months later, they are shipwrecked on a coral reef, with surf tearing a huge hole into the side of their boat.
With years invested in saving money, preparing the boat, and learning to navigate by the stars, parents Chuck and Dawn refuse to give up. Fourteen-year-old Garth is determined to continue, while eleven-year-old Linda never wanted to go in the first place. Can they overcome the emotional, physical and financial challenges to transform from castaways into circumnavigators?
To triumph, these pioneers must rebuild their boat on a remote Pacific island. Damage sustained on the reef and a lack of resources haunt them the rest of the way around the world as they face daunting obstacles, including wild weather, pirates, gun boats, mines and thieves, plus pesky bureaucrats and cockroaches as stubborn as the family. Without a working engine and no way to communicate with the outside world, they struggle to reach home before their broken rig comes crashing down and they run out of food on a trial that tests them to their limits.
Sea Trials by Wendy Hinman earns a Kirkus starred review“…The author’s expressive writing captures the wonder of being at sea in all its glory… her engaging narrative succeeds in capturing the thrills and frustrations of this intrepid family. Taking in remarkably far-flung destinations such as Christmas Island and the New Hebrides, this exhilarating book should appeal to any would-be explorer who has stood at the prow of a ship and dreamed of the possibilities. Highly readable and sufficiently evocative to sense the scent of sea air in the pages.—Kirkus Reviews (starred review).
Sea Trials: Around the World With Duct Tape and Bailing Wire by Wendy Hinman is the true story of the Wilcox family. In 1973 they took to their 40-ft sailboat and started on a journey around the world. Just over a year on and they find themselves aground on a coral reef, a rather large hole letting the seawater into their boat. For many, that would be it, game over, but not so for the Wilcox family. They have spent years saving the money for this trip, getting their boat ready and learning every way they can to navigate, and one coral reef isn’t getting in their way. Their 14-year old son is raring to go, to get on with the trip; their 11-year old daughter, not so much. This is going to be a tough trip, not just physically but mentally and emotionally as well. Follow the Wilcox family as they put their boat back together and struggle on around the world, battling obstacles and events that push them to their absolute limits.
Wow! What a story this is. Sea Trials: Around the World With Duct Tape and Bailing Wire by Wendy Hinman is an incredible tale of bravery, determination, and a strong will to win against all the odds and it is one of the best true-life stories I have read in a long while. The writing is amazing, it grips you from the start and is so descriptive that you truly feel as though you are battling each wave, fighting each fight and traveling every hard mile with the family. You can feel every emotion and I guarantee your teeth will be gritted and your fists clenched at several points during the story as you follow it. The story is fast and brilliantly written and I guarantee any reader will be hooked to the very end.
“This true story of the Wilcox family is completely riveting and simultaneously insanely frustrating – which means it's a great book! Hinman's attention to little details like family squabbles and disagreements or stop-gap repairs make the whole trip vivid and real and their concerns intense… you are intensely caught up in the family's decisions and dilemmas while they are facing them and can sympathize with their recurrent optimism and desire to achieve their goal. Sea Trials immerses you in the Wilcox's world as you share their great adventure, for good and ill. It is an adventure that, for readers, is well worth the trip.” —San Francisco Book Review
“A modern, swashbuckling adventure, Sea Trials: Around the World with Duct Tape and Bailing Wire will quickly transport readers through a fascinating, light read out to sea aboard the Vela.” —Seattle Book Review
Sea Trials: Around the World With Duct Tape and Bailing Wire by Wendy Hinman is the true story of the Wilcox family. In 1973 they took to their 40-ft sailboat and started on a journey around the world. Just over a year on and they find themselves aground on a coral reef, a rather large hole letting the seawater into their boat. For many, that would be it, game over, but not so for the Wilcox family. They have spent years saving the money for this trip, getting their boat ready and learning every way they can to navigate, and one coral reef isn’t getting in their way. Their 14-year old son is raring to go, to get on with the trip; their 11-year old daughter, not so much. This is going to be a tough trip, not just physically but mentally and emotionally as well. Follow the Wilcox family as they put their boat back together and struggle on around the world, battling obstacles and events that push them to their absolute limits.
Wow! What a story this is. Sea Trials: Around the World With Duct Tape and Bailing Wire by Wendy Hinman is an incredible tale of bravery, determination, and a strong will to win against all the odds and it is one of the best true-life stories I have read in a long while. The writing is amazing, it grips you from the start and is so descriptive that you truly feel as though you are battling each wave, fighting each fight and traveling every hard mile with the family. You can feel every emotion and I guarantee your teeth will be gritted and your fists clenched at several points during the story as you follow it. The story is fast and brilliantly written and I guarantee any reader will be hooked to the very end.
“…The author’s expressive writing captures the wonder of being at sea in all its glory… her engaging narrative succeeds in capturing the thrills and frustrations of this intrepid family. Taking in remarkably far-flung destinations such as Christmas Island and the New Hebrides, this exhilarating book should appeal to any would-be explorer who has stood at the prow of a ship and dreamed of the possibilities. Highly readable and sufficiently evocative to sense the scent of sea air in the pages.—Kirkus Reviews (starred review).
“…The author’s expressive writing captures the wonder of being at sea in all its glory… her engaging narrative succeeds in capturing the thrills and frustrations of this intrepid family. Taking in remarkably far-flung destinations such as Christmas Island and the New Hebrides, this exhilarating book should appeal to any would-be explorer who has stood at the prow of a ship and dreamed of the possibilities. Highly readable and sufficiently evocative to sense the scent of sea air in the pages.—Kirkus Reviews (starred review). Selected a Kirkus Book of the Month (April 2017) and best book of 2017.
Wow! What a story this is. Sea Trials: Around the World With Duct Tape and Bailing Wire by Wendy Hinman is an incredible tale of bravery, determination, and a strong will to win against all the odds and it is one of the best true-life stories I have read in a long while. The writing is amazing, it grips you from the start and is so descriptive that you truly feel as though you are battling each wave, fighting each fight and traveling every hard mile with the family. You can feel every emotion and I guarantee your teeth will be gritted and your fists clenched at several points during the story as you follow it. The story is fast and brilliantly written and I guarantee any reader will be hooked to the very end.
Sea Trials: Around the World With Duct Tape and Bailing Wire by Wendy Hinman, a 2017 INDIES Winner
Silver, Adventure & Recreation (Adult Nonfiction)
A shipwreck might end a dream of circumnavigating the globe. Not for the Wilcox family. To triumph, they must rebuild their boat on a remote Pacific island. Damage sustained on the reef and a lack of resources haunt them the rest of the way around the world as they face wild weather, pirates, gun boats, mines and thieves, scurvy and starvation in a trial that tests them to their limits. A timeless true story of grit and resilience.
