Sailing to Jessica

by Kelly Watts

Overview

At 35-years old, Kelly and Paul Watts sold their home and quit their jobs to sail around the world, without any sailing experience. Two days after purchasing their forty-two-foot sloop, they got caught in a forty-knot gale off the coast of Cape Fear, NC. Their sails ripped; the engine overheated; the GPS broke; they suffered hypothermia and severe seasickness. And yet they persevered on their journey, discovering the playful sea lions of the Galapagos, the seductive dance of the Polynesian girls, and the primitive beat of Tuvaluan music, all while learning how to sail and repair their boat. They narrowly avoided a shark attack in Suwarrow, fled from suspected pirates off the coast of Ecuador, and hit a submerged container � the fear of all sailors - near Midway Island.

What started as a search to find meaning to �life without children,� only strengthened their desire to have a family. After fertility attempts failed in America and New Zealand, they unexpectedly adopted a two-month old baby in Kiribati. And so began the adventure of raising a baby on a boat in the middle of the Pacific, battling Dengue Fever and an epidemic of e-coli., almost losing their lives in a 60-knot westerly gale and navigating through the maze of international adoption paperwork.

Told from Kelly�s conversational point of view, �Sailing to Jessica� will inspire anyone who is searching for meaning in their life to get up and find it.

Product Details

BN ID:	2940015771374
Publisher:	Marshall & Gilbert
Publication date:	11/19/2012
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
File size:	386 KB

About the Author

Before moving to India, and subsequently Australia, Kelly Watts was a regional contributor for Meredith Corporation, the American publisher of Better Homes & Gardens magazine. She also wrote freelance articles for Blue Water Sailing magazine, Creative Home magazine as well as Pet Trader magazine (NZ). Prior to her four-year sailing trip, she wrote a weekly newspaper food column for the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel and St. Paul Pioneer Press for three years in addition to freelance food articles for other newspapers and Hometown Cooking magazine. She was also a food photographer for these newspapers. One of her sailing photographs appeared on the June 2006 cover of Blue Water Sailing magazine. She has a degree in Chemistry with a double major in French from Georgetown University and received her Certificat de Cuisine Base from the Cordon Bleu in Paris.

Editorial Reviews

Tania Aebi, author of "Maiden Voyage," said:

"...The details of Paul and Kelly's journey will bring the reader aboard the roller coaster ups and downs of the cruising life, the seemingly endless frustrations mitigated by unforgettable friendships, joy and awe that make it all so worthwhile, an experience of a lifetime. Here is an inspirational couple who recognized an opening in their lives and seized a moment leading to the kinds of memories that only a life at sea can bring . . . "

Goodreads.com - Tania Aebi

Most books are enjoyable to read but only a few leave you inspired and wanting to read more.
Whether you are a sailor or not you go through the roller coaster of emotions Kelly and Paul experienced along their amazing life-changing journey.
I thoroughly enjoyed every word of this book and respect the passion and courage that these 2 people took to give up their conventional lives and pursue their dream of sailing around the world.
A real page turner, very well written...

iBookstore - LeiliDania Oscar

Author of "The Motion of the Ocean" said:

"Kelly and Paul had a big, hairy, audacious goal: to have kids. Only they couldn't. So they did the next craziest thing: cruising. (So what if they didn't know how to sail--details, details.) Thrilling and honest, this book recounts their journey from the eastern US across the Pacific. It describes their adventures--good, bad, ugly--and reminds us how abandoning our planned route sometimes takes us exactly where we need to

Marshall & Gilbert - Janna Cawrse Esarey

"(Kelly's writing shines)... through on every page. She had me from hello. She paints such a vivid picture with her words that I felt a little seasick myself. I lived their adventure�celebrating their successful passages across the ocean and suffering their disappointment with a failed IVF attempt in New Zealand. In short it�s a great read."

Creating A Family - Dawn Davenport