Maiden Voyage by Tania Aebi, Bernadette Brennan Summary and Reviews
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Book Reviews of Maiden Voyage
Book Review: 1/2 thumb up
Summary: 1 Stars
A native New Yorker is offered the chance to circumnavigate the globe, encountering new people and places. The catch? by herself and within a certain amount of time; the time it takes to break the world record for being the youngest girl to ever sail around the world, single-handedly. A chance and experience of a lifetime, one that this brave young girl will never forget. Meet Tania Aebi. With an eccentric father who wants the best for her, Tania's story is one that tells a tale of courage, love and unforgettable moments that will shape who she is and the life she will lead. Through Tania's accounts, we as the reader get a glimpse of what she goes through emotionally, physically and mentally. Although some of the writing is hard to understand (especially the boat lingo), it is evident that she is an amateur writer who is striving to tell her interesting tale. Although not a first rate novel, the story stays inspirational and interesting enough to keep reading.
At different port stops, Tania introduces the reader to all types of cultures. From the South Pacific to Australia, Sri Lanka and Bermuda, she really gets a glimpse of how different people of our world lead their lives. At the same time, Tania meets sailor friends at different stops, all with exciting stories encounters with different weather and people. A very important personal part of the storyline is the man she meets at a small party, a Switz named Olivier. Although Tania does not go into depth about their love, it is evident at the end that they were meant to be together.
Overall, I thought that the idea of what Tania has been through is a great saga but at the same time, the writing is very choppy and technical at points. It has encouraged me to live life to the fullest and see the world and how different places function, but the book seemed to lack insight and some of it seemed rushed at the end. Yet stories about women and their experiences about adventuring out in the world are always worth reading, even if they are not five star.
Book Review: A True Romantic Adventure
Summary: 5 Stars
This book was one of the first that I read in the True Adventure genre and while I have read many since and some that are certainly more sound from a writing perspective, few have come close to the honesty and beauty of the journey that Tania Aebi shares with us in this story. This book does go in to a great amount of detail about sailing, but I think this is superbly important. It gives us insight into what it takes in order to make a journey like this one and we get to see and experience with her the huge learning curve of sailing and all the intricacies of doing it well. I, in fact, appreciated all the detail because I learned from it and am a better reader of sailing stories as a result.Tania shares so much of herself and the challenges she overcame and the personal growth she experiences. I had a hard time putting the book down as so much happens and you want to know how this young inexperienced woman would handle it. It's always great to find a good adventure story, even more so when it is about a young woman, this book will certainly not disappoint anyone who wants to see life experienced on this incredible journey.
Book Review: A great adventure story
Summary: 5 Stars
When I was living in California a few years back, I got interested in sailing. I wanted to get all the information I could about traveling the sea. Then I came across "Maiden Voyage". I started reading it and I couldn't put it down.This is a great story. It made me feel like I was there.
I know I wasn't 'but I really wanted to be.
If you like travel narratives on sailing, this a good place to start.
Book Review: A gripping story of raw adventure, fear and joy, and the undefeatable tenacity of a young woman's spirit.
Summary: 5 Stars
Being a sailor, diver, and adventurer with my own share of adrenaline experiences under my belt, I was just slightly awed at the sheer nerve and guts of Tania Aebi in taking on the planet in a small sailboat, all alone. After reading her riveting account, I seriously wondered if I could ever do that. More than pure adventure, this is a tale of inspiration that, hopefully, will encourage others of all ages to step out of their mundane world and into one of some risk, to heighten their life experience. Who wants to reach their twilight years and, looking back, say, "I could have done that, or at least tried," but didn't. Too late then.
The Amazon reviews were helpful and insightful, but one in particular was unjustifiably unkind. I'm referring to "Shiver Me Timbers!" by Jeff H. Minde (aka Indomitable Spirit) on August 1, 2006, on this site. To understand my letter below to him, first read his review under See All Customer Reviews. Then read Maiden Voyage, and decide for yourself.
OK, here goes:
Ahoy Indomitable Spirit!
I just finished Tania Aebi's gripping tale, Maiden Voyage, and then re-read your scathing review. Clearly, for a pipe smoking-therapist-lawyer, you're a bitter melange of would-be man and full-time misogynist. Can you get a "friends and family" discount from a shrinkologist colleague to do a proper diagnosis?
Your "Maybe I'm being unfair" has to be the understatement of the New Millennium. For a Zen dude who putters around daysailing in protected Long Island Sound, your claim that you learned as much as Tania did subjected to open-ocean storms and perils far from help is patently absurd. Granted she had problems from the get-go, and that she lacked the seasoned experience desirable for such a bold undertaking, but the bottom-line is she did it. Tania was an 18-year-old girl when she set sail to face the world and all its uncertainties. Out on the vast expanses and crowded shipping lanes she was forced to make quick decisions, get mechanically savvy fast, and take huge risks to keep going when things fell apart. All you have to do out on the Sound is hail a BoatUS tug, then suck on your pipe until they tow you in. Remember that old adage, "Those who can do, those who can't teach?" Guess where you fall.
Your unjust review is riddled with the biases of a prejudiced and life-challenged pseudo-therapist -- "really didn't like the Tania Aebi..." "I was truly infuriated at her father," "could have used less information about her various (yawn!) lovers..." "she barely shows any insight or reflection..." "her navigating skills were suicidally poor..." and on and on. My, my. And what, may I ask, do you have against lovers, which was handled in a tasteful way. Does the idea of having one make you uncomfortable? Paging Dr. Phil!
But perhaps the most asinine comment was that, after all Tania's travails, "Miraculously, she lived to tell about it." Jeff, it was no miracle. She prevailed, pure and simple, because of her own rational thinking, resourcefulness, and tenacity. If I had to be out on a sailboat in a Force 10 gale, I'd much prefer having Tania at the helm than you, which really would be suicidal.
Tania had a choice to make, and she chose the most risky and daring. She didn't have to set sail, despite her father's pressures. She could have quit anywhere along the way, and found a valid reason for doing so. To say that in the end "she's just a girl and it's just a boat" is demeaningly dismissive, and minimizes an accomplishment you could never hope to achieve.
Instead of putting down the achievements of others braver and more skilled, perhaps you should concern yourself with the cancerous perils of pipe-smoking, which will claim you faster than a rogue wave out on the Sound. And find a lover.
The defense rests.
Walt Clayton
Book Review: A hobbit goes sailing
Summary: 4 Stars
Well, not exactly, but there are plenty of parallels.More or less thrown into this journey by a zany, wizard-like father, Tania begins her Tolkienesque voyage with no real understanding of the difficulties involved. After experiencing many adventures, some real dangers, and even a bit of romance, she returns home a wiser, stronger, and altogether more mature woman. Heartwarming, authentic, and honest, Tania proves herself to be a sailor and author in the tradition of the grandfather of single-handed circumnavigators, old Slocum himself.
A page-turner.