“Sailing Into American History: On the Intracoastal Waterway”

Diary of a sailboat passage up the US coast, observing American life

About the Book:

This is a diary of a British sailboat’s passage up the US Intracoastal Waterway, observing America’s lifestyle, history and cultural paradoxes and written with gusto and empathy. It’s a well-crafted book steeped in the euphoria of travel and ending with some sober thoughts on the demonic 9/11 attack on New York City. A fascinating insight into early North American history set against the backdrop of a boating adventure along the eastern seaboard from Florida to New York.
Most people explore North America from coast-to-coast. Others journey up the eastern seaboard’s Intracoastal Waterway — with its tricky ocean inlets, shallow estuaries, violent climate – and have a very different perspective. This is the fractured landfall along which intrepid sixteenth and seventeenth century colonists from England first set foot in the New World after crossing the Atlantic. In some places the coast is still a raw, impenetrable wilderness; in others, the orderly symmetry of restless humanity encroaches. A delightful and informative read…

Excerpt from the Book:

“This is the fractured landfall along which intrepid sixteenth and seventeenth century colonists from Europe – English, Dutch, French and Spanish in particular – first set foot after crossing the Atlantic. Their fortitude must have been extraordinary in the face of such daunting discomfort, remoteness and isolation. In some places the coast still remains a raw, impenetrable wilderness; in other parts, the orderly symmetry of civilization brings you abruptly back to maritime activity, marinas, shopping malls and restless humanity.
My first trip to America was aboard a Sunderland Flying Boat in 1946 at the tender age of eight. My father had been involved in the British Admiralty’s anti-U-Boat operations in Bermuda during the war. At the end of hostilities, we were flown to Baltimore en route to New York City where we boarded the re-commissioned Queen Mary and sailed back to Southampton. It was the first of many trips made to a country for which – nonwithstanding some aspects of its muscular foreign policy and boisterous history – I have always had great affection and admiration. By virtue of its sheer size and diversity, America remains a place of infinite experience and possibility.
This is the short diary of a passage various friends and I made up the Intracoastal Waterway – better known in North American sailing circles as the ICW or The Ditch – over two summers from Fort Lauderdale on the Atlantic coast of Florida to New York City at the mouth of the Hudson River, with various detours and historical excursions along the way.”

Sailing Into American History by Ian Verchere is available in paperback from Amazon UK at:

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Sailing-Into-American-History-Verch%C3%A8re/dp/1785075675

and the e-book version can be downloaded from:

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Sailing-Into-American-History-Verch-re-ebook/dp/B0191WUKL6

Press/Media Contact Details:

New Generation Publishing
Tel. 01234 712 064
E-mail: info@newgeneration-publishing.com