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| Captain Neil, Skipper Jim, Navigator Lisa, and Sailing Master Jules |
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| Jim and I with Jules and Neil the morning we abandoned ship |
So, how could I abandon our friends after only one 13-hour day of sailing? Especially since I had decided that I would see this through to the end--come what may? I had even imagined that if Neil and Jim succumbed to some weird, incapacitating illness, that Jules and I would brave any hardship together to get our men safely back to Mystic. That our adventure would be so “edge-of-your-seat" exciting, it would be included in the next edition of Life Book’s, “The Greatest Adventures of All Time.” Alongside Amelia Earhart’s quest to circumnavigate the globe, would be our story, with a title such as, “Plump Writer and Blind Sailor Defy Foul Weather, Scurvy, and Temptation to Eat the Useless.”
Perhaps you are wondering if I jumped ship because all my Mystic sailor friends were right—that the cold, erratic winds of March made this an extremely unpleasant trip? That I found out how much work sailing really is? Or perhaps you have already heard some of the challenges we faced—making you understand--at least a little?
Although alarmed at the sight of water seeping onto our cabin floor the morning of our departure, the fear of a damaged hull was not why I left my friends. Surprising enough, it really wasn’t any of the day’s somewhat terrifying events that made me jump ship--although they certainly didn't help!
Although alarmed at the sight of water seeping onto our cabin floor the morning of our departure, the fear of a damaged hull was not why I left my friends. Surprising enough, it really wasn’t any of the day’s somewhat terrifying events that made me jump ship--although they certainly didn't help!
Though many are sympathetic towards my reasons for hopping a train ride back to Mystic, my own mother was disappointed when she learned I was a deserter. "You wimp," she said, when I called from the train to tell her the news. Upset that I had abandoned my friends, she added, “Bad girl.”
My dad's reaction to my abandoning ship? "Thank God!”
If you would like to find out who of us deserves recognition on the Mystic Seafarer’s Trail—and who does not—you can find out in my upcoming book (title still to be determined--see below if you would like to tell me which title and theme you like best--or perhaps you can think of another one?).*
Thanks for following along this far!
Thanks for following along this far!
Sincerely,
Lisa Saunders, Landlubber
P.S. If anyone is interested in learning more about sailing in general, and why getting shanghaied should be avoided at all costs, contact me at saundersbooks@aol.com.
Which of the following titles would make you pick up my book to at least read the back cover:
Which of the following titles would make you pick up my book to at least read the back cover:
- “Mystic Pizza and Beyond: Adventuring the Seafarer's Trail”
- "Finding Adventure in Mystic, CT (where there is more than just pizza)"
- "Becoming an Adventurer Along the Mystic Seafarer's Trail"
Possible Back Cover Material:
Forced to relocate to Mystic, CT, sedentary writer Lisa Saunders must leave family and her “real” job to begin a new life in what National Geographic calls one of America’s “Best Adventure Towns.”
Living only blocks from Mystic Pizza, the restaurant that inspired the movie, “Mystic Pizza,” Lisa sets out daily with her beagle/basset hound, Bailey, to walk past the haunts and homes of Mystic’s legendary sea voyagers. Her first goal? Lose weight while she figures out how to become an adventurer herself.
Lisa's second goal? To find a friend with a sailboat!
Although Lisa gains weight walking stretches of what she terms the "Mystic Seafarer's Trail" because she stops along the way for ice cream, fried clams strips, and of course, pizza, she does, through conversations with locals, uncover the back stories of Mystic's adventurers--living and dead, including the discoverers of the RMS Titanic and Antarctica; legendary aviatrix, Amelia Earhart; and new friend, Kate, who gave birth on a schooner and rowed to shore to weigh her baby on a lobster scale.
Through research at Mystic Seaport and Mystic River Historical Society, Lisa also unearths the secrets behind what she crowns “The 7 Wonders of Mystic”; becomes embroiled in a controversy over the“8th Wonder”; and discovers that she too has family secrets buried in Mystic. When she visits a local graveyard, she is in for an even bigger surprise.
Although Lisa gains weight walking stretches of what she terms the "Mystic Seafarer's Trail" because she stops along the way for ice cream, fried clams strips, and of course, pizza, she does, through conversations with locals, uncover the back stories of Mystic's adventurers--living and dead, including the discoverers of the RMS Titanic and Antarctica; legendary aviatrix, Amelia Earhart; and new friend, Kate, who gave birth on a schooner and rowed to shore to weigh her baby on a lobster scale.
Through research at Mystic Seaport and Mystic River Historical Society, Lisa also unearths the secrets behind what she crowns “The 7 Wonders of Mystic”; becomes embroiled in a controversy over the“8th Wonder”; and discovers that she too has family secrets buried in Mystic. When she visits a local graveyard, she is in for an even bigger surprise.
But can a plump 50-year-old shake her sedentary, landlubbing lifestyle to become true adventurer? Will she ever find a friend with a sailboat, venture the high seas, and earn the respected title of "Adventurer?"
###
By the way, I'm not alone in thinking the Intracoastal Waterway is dangerous:
On another note, the discoverer of the Titanic, whose home exhibit is located in Mystic, commented on the possibility of finding Earhart's plane (Earhart was married in nearby Noank): http://www.theday.com/article/20120321/NWS01/303219968/-1/NWS
Other:
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