cruisingatlast-sailingtheeastcoast

Merritt, Elliott - CRUISING AT LAST - SAILING THE EAST COAST. The Lyons Press 2003 ISBN 1-58574-767-X 250pp.

I don't often subscribe to the overblown enthusiasm of the blurbs and quotes on a books jackets but in this case its east to agree with the view of Derek Lundy, author of The Way of A Ship who describes Merritt's book as a "lyrical, humorous, unpretentious and utterly absorbing account." Cruising At Last is a book about an amateur sailor who is also a professional writer. It is an old fashioned book in the best meaning of the words with a quality to it reflecting the great joys of small accomplishments. Merritt had a remarkable life and on retirement built a 20 foot wooden sloop to the Carinita design. It was a no-nonsense boat designed to be executed by the amateur builder. The building itself is a throw-away and a mere prelude to the story - this book is about how Merritt and his wife sailed from the boat's home port at Hilton Head, South Carolina up the coast to the chilly waters of Maine and back again. No heroics, relatively little excitement but a huge measure of simple satisfaction and sense of accomplishment. This man loved his boat and he enjoyed his sailing. The book is not a boast but a story the author has generously shared. The book is not a cruising "how-to" but almost every page has observations and practices which I could apply to my own travels. Merritt and his wife actually made the trip to Maine and back three times and the books is comprised of a series of essays he wrote about the three voyages for Rudder Magazine, Yachting and Cruising World. They have been skillfully threaded together into a narrative of a single voyage. I have given this book my highest rating and really regretted finishing it. A few maps or charts might have been a useful adjunct but the endpaper plans and illustrations of the boat itself add to the pleasure from the book.