Around the World in a Homemade Boat
Freed our spirits,
Increased our knowledge,
Intensified our love for Earth,
And inspired us to help shape the future.
A city boy meets a country girl who always says ‘yes’ to an adventure, and together they journey to Australia, where they homebuilt Banyandah, a ferrocement yacht, while starting a family. After three years of challenging hard work, Banyandah was launched, and their young sons were swimming and running.
The famed Marco Polo, renowned for his extensive travels across Asia and China, journeyed alone without his family. Similarly, Stanley and Livingstone ventured through Africa unaccompanied by loved ones. The much-revered Captains James Cook, Christopher Columbus, and Fernando Cortés, also explored the vast expanse of the world without their families.
In contrast, Jack and Jude became determined to share the wonders of nature with their children before school years beckoned, and set out on what was meant to be a one-year adventure. Amazingly, they sailed the world for fifteen years.
In ever-increasing circles, the Four J’s—Jack, Jude, Jason, Jerome—explored Earth, touching 80 countries. They called their adventures “Voyages of Education,” encompassing pivotal years in their children’s development, sharing Earth’s beauty and its treasures while running Banyandah School, which took their sons all the way to their final year of high school.
To Africa for a safari
In the last wild kingdom.
Then to the Galapagos
To wander through the intricacies of nature.
Onward to Rapa Nui
To witness the results of over-population.
Sailing everywhere in between
Contemplating life, eternity,
And the marvellous creation.
Accompanied by sea fairies
Whispering their ageless secrets.
Adding historical notes, and keeping the scary bits true to life, created a most amazing coming of age saga. Inspirational for young minds – and all of us who love life and Earth.
Excerpts & Teasers:
Sea Monster ~ Rapa Nui ~ Tuamotus ~ Machinegun Alley ~ Out the Other End ~ Big Monopoly Game
2 BOOK PACK
Around Australia and Around the World
AUD$80
Free delivery worldwide
(postal zones 1 – 4)
Comments and Reviews of our Books ~
HOVER to Pause
I love that it is raw, real and the reflections are from all four of you.
I love all the history of all the places that you have visited......some I have never heard of. I have learnt so much history from this book.
I love all the descriptions of the geography; they make you feel like you are there in person.
I love the passion for 'mother earth' that you all have and the protective fear that we are losing this treasure with overpopulation and pollution.
And I just love that you call Jude, my lady. That makes my heart melt.
The way you combine personal anecdote with history and local politics creates vivid word portraits that stay in the mind. It adds depth to the experiences you describe and your interactions with the local populace.
You painted a vivid portrait of that mysterious, powerful, lost culture and its statues, then, in a masterful stroke, aligned that well-known story of a lost civilization to the perils we face today. It brought the current situation into stark focus.
Hi Jack and Jude,
I am enjoying getting to know you through your book. You mention you do a lot of re-writing but the end result is impressive. There is a musical cadence to your writing style. Quiet passages as you cruise along, with delightful flourishes in moments of enchanting beauty, rising to a crescendo in moments of great drama, like your attempted night entry into Diego Suarez.
As Captain Haddock so eloquently put it, “Failure. You can never let it defeat you.”
The three-year voyage explored locations known only to the wild creatures as we sailed to the world’s greatest attractions. Meeting along the way, a swirling mix of everyday people everywhere we landed. Statistically, we slept one in four nights at sea aboard a tiny dot of a sailboat about the size of a Winnebago. All of this before GPS satellite navigation. Being sextant sailors, we taught our sons how to navigate by the heavens, and then they navigated the rest of the way around the world. On that massive voyage of education, to take our children into the digital age, we took with us one of the first portable computers that came with a library of manuals. Our clever captain studied these and then taught the children several programming languages, producing the first digital game of Monopoly. He also wrote a navigation program with a built-in almanac to check the boys’ celestial sights.
Future Outlook ~
While in the Galápagos, just as Charles Darwin experienced a revelation, the Four J’s encountered something similar. Having witnessed man’s impact on Earth, and Nature’s limited ability to repair, our epiphany saw humanity in an alliance with Nature benefitting each other instead of chasing the narcissistic view of world domination.
Jacques Cousteau observed, “People Protect What They Love.”
non-fiction paperback, 500 pages, 150 images and charts
The pictures on your website flash past too quickly do you need to slow them down
Nigel, Appreciate your comment, you’re right, should have viewer controls which I have now added. HOVER to pause – and rt/lt arrows. A fabulous addition thanks to you. Cheers, J&J