Wendy Hinman, author of the laugh-out-loud award-winning Tightwads on the Loose - the story of her 7-year, 34,000-mile Pacific odyssey shares another riveting seaborne adventure. Sea Trials, her second book, is the timeless story of a family and their struggle in the pursuit of a dream. Follow the daunting challenges they face, including a shipwreck, wild weather, pirates, gun boats, mines and thieves, scurvy, starvation and broken equipment, and get a glimpse of the fascinating cultures they encounter in an amazing true story with enough levity to keep readers of all ages hooked to a suspenseful, satisfying ending. What's more, it's a true story.
- 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 in the side of their boat.
After 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 this 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 has earned a Kirkus Starred Review and been named a Kirkus Best Book of the Year, Foreword Reviews Best Book, a Readers' Favorite Book and a International Book Award Finalist.
Tightwads on the Loose has won the Journey Award for best true-life adventure book. "A light-hearted tone and unaffected style make this an entertaining tale." - San Francisco Book Review.
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