Travels With My Sea Captain

FROM HOLLYWOOD TO THE HIGH SEAS A chance encounter in Los Angeles airport with a Swedish Sea Captain and Jill left the movie business and was swept out to sea. From the glamour of Hollywood to life on board a rough cargo ship to playing Mother Goose on a remote Scottish farm, TRAVELS WITH MY SEA CAPTAIN is full of stories about the Captain and his international crew of characters, the many ports as Jill found herself travelling all over the world, life in the glen and how love can really change everything. REVIEWS: Travels With My Sea Captain by Jill Vedebrand A warm, humorous account of one woman's tempestuous affair and marriage to a fiery Swedish sea captain. After meeting by chance in Los Angeles airport, Jill and Tomas fell in love and she decided to join him on some of his voyages to exotic locations including Japan, Singapore, Cuba, South America, India and Russia. There is no shortage of drama as she paints a vivid picture of months spent aboard a ship where she was often the only female. At times resented by the crew, she also often adopted the role of agony aunt and compassionately recounts the hardship endured by men who can spend several years away from their families. There are stories of drunken cooks, surly engineers, brutal fights, macho wrestling competitions, and frantic shore searches for men who had gone missing in the local brothels. The physical aspect of being on board ship also poses problems as she struggles to adapt to the confined spaces, isolation of the open ocean and the violent weather they encounter. The often stunning and sometimes frightening places she visited during her time at sea are colourfully portrayed and she has a knack for bringing to life the sights, smells and atmosphere. Intertwined with the tales of her sea voyages are stories of Jill and Tomas' home life in rural Scotland. They buy a farm and there are accounts of their battles to restore the property and about their menagerie of ducks and pets. In these parts the story reminded me a little of James Herriot or Lillian Beckwith's stories about life in the Hebrides and I think it would have great appeal to these markets. Part travelogue, part humorous account of life in the wilds of Scotland, this is an engaging, romantic, very human story. SENIOR EDITOR

A gripping novel of love and adventure on the high seas that introduces an unforgettable young heroine. Growing up on the Bay of Fundy in the 1860s, Azuba Galloway is determined to escape the confines of her town and live at sea. When she captures the heart of Captain Nathaniel Bradstock, she is sure her dreams are about to be realized, only to have pregnancy intervene. But when Azuba becomes embroiled in a scandal, Nathaniel must bring his young family abroad to save his reputation. Azuba gets her wish, but at what price? Alone in a male world, and juggling the splendor of foreign ports with the terror of the open seas, Azuba must fight to keep her family together. Blending the high-tension drama of missed chances and unexpected twists of the sort that made A Reliable Wife a bestseller with the pluck and spirit of a heroine in the vein of Laura Ingalls Wilder, The Sea Captain's Wife will captivate readers and critics alike.

Sofia's great-great-great-great-grandfather Philippe was a ship captain! At least, that's what Sofia's family tells her. But is it true, or is it a legend? If Sofia and Sam find Captain Philippe's old logbook, they will have proof! Sofia and Sam hop on their scooter and--Whiz...Zoom...FOOP! They are transported to France! Will they find Captain Philippe's logbook before the scooter's battery runs out, or will they be stranded thousands of miles from home?

In 1996, Allan Weisbecker sold his home and his possessions, loaded his dog and surfboards into his truck, and set off in search of his long-time surfing companion, Patrick, who had vanished into the depths of Central America. In this rollicking memoir of his quest from Mexico to Costa Rica to unravel the circumstances of Patrick's disappearance, Weisbecker intimately describes the people he befriended, the bandits he evaded, the waves he caught and lost en route to finding his friend. In Search of Captain Zero is, according to Outside magazine, "A subtly affecting tale of friendship and duty. [It] deserves a spot on the microbus dashboard as a hell of a cautionary tale about finding paradise and smoking it away." In Search of Captain Zero: A Surfer's Road Trip Beyond the End of the Road is a Booksense 76 Top Ten selection for September/October.

Malva is the princess of Galnicia, destined to marry the Prince of Andemark. Or so her parents think. On the eve of her wedding, she escapes at dead of night from under her parents' noses, little realising that she is letting herself in for a life of peril and adventure, including being shipwrecked in a huge storm and captured as part of a harem. Hugely visual, the book tells of the wonder of frozen steppes and oriental palaces, of sailing ships and treasure islands. This is a book of drama, magic and excitement, where challenges have to be overcome, friendships cemented and hearts broken.

Two young men from opposite sides of the world are dreaming to escape from their life at home and to become sailors. In the tropics, Georgio runs away and becomes trapped on a tuna fishing vessel bound for West Africa. In the frozen north, Leif finds work on a passenger cargo liner. They meet in a dramatic shipwreck, as one rescues the other, but their friendship brings conflict ashore as wellas at sea. Leifs obsession with an old cargo sailing boat leads them both into a deadly adventure of murder and betrayal and their courage and skills are tested to the extreme. The story is fiction. The historical background, the ships and their operations are based on fact. Not suitable for children under 12; book is for young adult or general readership. Story begins when characters are 14 and 16 and continues over the next 6 years of their lives. Reviews Adventures on the high seas, sailing ships across vast oceans, visiting colourful places as poles apart as Scandinavian glaciers and Amazonian jungles are all excitingly found within the covers of Jill Vedebrand's wonderful book, Two Sailors. Set in the late 1950s, this nautical tale is gripping from the very start and tells how, through fate and circumstance, two boys bedome best friends. The two sailors in question, Georgio, a 14-year-old Brazilian boy, and Leif, a 16-year-old Swedish boy, have apparently more than poor backgrounds and hard working families in common. They both have an irrepressible dream of escaping to the sea and this dream will one day bring them together from opposite sides of the equator. In a town just south of the stifling heat of Rio de Janeiro, Georgio knows that the only way of escaping a five year stint as an apprentice in a sweatshop is to run away. He heads to the docks and becomes a stowaway on what turns out to be a Japanese fishing vessel bound for West Africa. Meanwhile, on a remote frozen wasteland of a farm in Sweden, Leif longs for spring to arrive and imagines that becoming a sailor would lead to a full, rather than dull, experience. For over two years, each has their own enthralling adventure and gains valuable experience at sea. Leif, on a passenger cargo ship bound for Argentina, and Georgio, as one of the crew on the Japanese fishing boat. Then tragedy strikes and, off the South American Coast, Leif is able to save Georgio's life. This dramatic sea rescue brings them both together, not as boys, but as young men. From then on, through love, jealousy, hate and rivalry, they lead each other into both adventure and danger. A terrifying journey across the Atlantic Ocean calls for them to make use of their hard-earned sea faring skills. However, even that experience, could not prepare them for the uncharted depths of the Amazon River where hidden perils await. Jill Vedebrand is no stranger to the sea and this is so evident from her clear, informed, and compelling writing. Her storytelling sweeps you along, from the vivid mind pictures of the frozen snow-laden lakes of Scandinavia, to the humidity of the tropics. Life at sea is brilliantly evoked and the descriptive, emotive writing lifts this tale so that you can actually see, smell and feel the ship and the ocean around you. After a bit of an adventure? I bet you can't put this one down. Janice Horton for Dumfries and Galloway Standard, May 14, 2004 'A brilliant boy's novel (and girls will not be bored by any means). I love it! Emotions are very well depicted in this fast moving teenage and young person adventure story. Jill Vedebrand presents her memorable characters in a vast array of scenes and moods." Kate Stanforth, B.A., Dip. Ed., English Teacher