Eleven Years Afloat.

Eleven Years Afloat

Peter Haase

Instantpublisher.com

http://readmybooks.blogspot.com

ISBN: 1598721895, $21.95, 308 pp.

This book is about a man living his dream. What makes his story and this book so special and an inspiration to other dreamers is that Peter was fifty-seven when he made the decision to cross his Rubicon. Quoting from page 195:

"My life, from school to retirement, has not been one straight line. There were bends and curves and detours. The end of World War II left me at the age of seventeen without a clear view or idea of my future. After trying my hand at repairing dentures in a dentist's laboratory and closer to my ancestral roots, I learned the fur trade in Frankfurt, and then I functioned as fun salesman in my father's failing business. When the opportunity to emigrate presented itself in form of a letter from a distant relative, I did not hesitate and shipped out to Ecuador, South America. For two years my work had to do with importation of industrial good and heavy machinery, before going into business on my own. Three years of traveling through the country followed, selling or trying to see, anything and everything, include kitchen sinks.

"In 1960, married and with a daughter, I took up residence in New York. After a year and a half with an automotive parts import firm, I joined a Far East company. For twenty-four years I worked in the Foods Division of the New York office of one of the largest trading concerns in the world.

"At the age of fifty-seven and divorced I accepted an early retirement offer. In a short speech at my farewell reception, I pointed out, "I am not retiring, I only change my life style." I embarked on a life on the ocean, a life of as much freedom as it was possible to find. The sea has represented that freedom for me since childhood."

Peter wrote about his first sea adventures in "Call of the Sea" which chronicles his experiences as crew on other boats. He purchased his own twenty-eight-foot 1980 Bristol sailboat on August 19, 1986 and named her TRITON 3. This book is full of everyday challenges, but I would like to quote some of the passage from the chapter titled One Thousand Solitary Miles:

"I must admit, I did have butterflies in my belly. Doubts kept creeping up in my mind, questions whether I had overlooked some important factor in my calculation, about the courses and the distances. Again I asked myself: will I have the stamina, will I be able to endure the physical and mental stress, the solitude? Am I equipped for bad weather? How about places to replenish water, food and fuel, or get parts if something breaks down? And the biggest concern of all: would the Diesel make it all the way to Florida? ..."

"The two most exciting moments in long distance sailing were for me the departure and the arrival. On the one hand there is the anticipation of adventure when the last anchor breaks loose from the bottom and the boat is free, and on the other, the great feeling of accomplishment when the anchor goes down at destination...."

"My body felt numb, a humming ran through my limbs, like a mild electrical current. There was a trembling in the nerves of my arms and legs. My hand was shaking when I lifted a bottle of fruit juice to my lips. As I stood at the stove, preparing a bowl of larmen, Japanes noodle soup, my knee did not stop twitching. I sat down to fill in a page in my logbook, but I could not control the pen. After a while, sitting in the cockpit with the logbook in hand, I figured out how long it had been since I last slept. That was at Six Shilling Cay. I woke up at eight that morning, 4 June; now it was the 6th, seven o'clock in the evening. That's fifty-nine hours. Fifty-nine hours without sleep!" Peter's not quite a Tristan Jones but close, and actually, he's of more interest to us in some ways because he was just an average guy with a dream who started to follow his dream late in life. He sailed for eleven years on his TRITON 3. Not all his dreams came true such as not retiring in the Virgin Islands. He decided, "Make your Paradise where you are, wherever that may be." He returned to Stuart, Florida and sold the TRITON 3. In closing I would like to quote from page 289:

"In the morning I drove to spot near the St. Lucie Inlet. I knew he was going to said the boat to Fort Lauderdale. TRITON 3, no long mine, sailed past me into the ocean. She was a beautiful sight. The mainsail was up, the Genoa unfurled, but the engine was driving the boat on this totally calm morning. Sean and a friend of his were on board. I did not let them see me. When the top of the white sail disappeared behind the jetty I turned around and went back to my car. I was surprised that not a single tear came to my eyes."

I have quoted passages from this book to give you an idea of Peter's writing style and skills. You won't be disappointed if you like true-life sea adventures. Peter Haase lives in Stuart, Florida, and besides this book and Call of the Sea, he has written a novel, When Love is Not Enough, which was published in April 2006. Thanks for sharing your adventure with us!