Sailing on the Edge
Alone Across the Atlantic
Published on 17. June 2021
Book
Paperback/Softback
296 pages
978-0-6451532-3-1 (ISBN)
Description
At the age of 57, Peter Keating set out to sail, single-handed, across the Atlantic.
It was a lifelong dream of a lifelong sailor and though it was to be a solo journey, his waking and sleeping hours were spent in the 'company' of his memories and erstwhile companions and friends. From Werner and crocodile surfing, to Gerhardt and the Gulag. From Charlie of Morova Lagoon, to Fred from Fransesca. Their stories, along with the Mafiosa of Malta, Leo from the Chesapeake, the myth of Napoleon on St Helena and many more besides, were weaved into Peter's as they hauled along, day after day, from horizon to horizon on the voyage from Norfolk, Virginia to Lisbon, Portugal.
They were there to help and inspire him and, when he was caught in the middle of Hurricane Barry, to ensure he reached out and survived. When at his lowest ebb, along came the ghost of Sam, a friendly old sailor who kept Peter entertained through the long, lonely hours of the dog watch.
Together they fill the pages of this book, yet this is not simply a sailing log of a trip from the New World to the Old. This is a story of individuals who have all lived on the edge. It shows what happens when you are brave enough to push yourself beyond your current boundaries and above all, go out on a limb. Yes, it will help you to understand more about deep oceaning, its joys and terrors, but perhaps it will also help the adventurer inside you to reflect on how you would cope in similar circumstances.
Ultimately, this is not just Peter Keating's journey alone, but the journey of us all when we go out on the edge - to peer over any horizon - and to finally emerge the better for having left our safe harbour.
It was a lifelong dream of a lifelong sailor and though it was to be a solo journey, his waking and sleeping hours were spent in the 'company' of his memories and erstwhile companions and friends. From Werner and crocodile surfing, to Gerhardt and the Gulag. From Charlie of Morova Lagoon, to Fred from Fransesca. Their stories, along with the Mafiosa of Malta, Leo from the Chesapeake, the myth of Napoleon on St Helena and many more besides, were weaved into Peter's as they hauled along, day after day, from horizon to horizon on the voyage from Norfolk, Virginia to Lisbon, Portugal.
They were there to help and inspire him and, when he was caught in the middle of Hurricane Barry, to ensure he reached out and survived. When at his lowest ebb, along came the ghost of Sam, a friendly old sailor who kept Peter entertained through the long, lonely hours of the dog watch.
Together they fill the pages of this book, yet this is not simply a sailing log of a trip from the New World to the Old. This is a story of individuals who have all lived on the edge. It shows what happens when you are brave enough to push yourself beyond your current boundaries and above all, go out on a limb. Yes, it will help you to understand more about deep oceaning, its joys and terrors, but perhaps it will also help the adventurer inside you to reflect on how you would cope in similar circumstances.
Ultimately, this is not just Peter Keating's journey alone, but the journey of us all when we go out on the edge - to peer over any horizon - and to finally emerge the better for having left our safe harbour.
More details
Language
English
Place of publication
Australia
Publishing group
Leschenault Press
Dimensions
Height: 229 mm
Width: 152 mm
Thickness: 17 mm
Weight
432 gr
ISBN-13
978-0-6451532-3-1 (9780645153231)
Copyright in bibliographic data and cover images is held by Nielsen Book Services Limited or by the publishers or by their respective licensors: all rights reserved.
Schweitzer Classification
Person
Peter Keating is now retired and living with his partner Kaye in Wynyard, Tasmania.
He has a degree in psychology from the University of Tasmania and spent time teaching maths and science in Hobart, NSW and London in the 1970s and 1980s.
He became an international sailor, owning 5 yachts ranging from 34ft to 104ft and completed over 200,000 ocean miles, sailing deep into the Pacific and crossing all the oceans of the world. He circumnavigated, using only a sextant, both east-about and west-about.
Returning to Australia in the late 1990s, Peter built a stone castle as an esoteric and healing centre, but returned to oceaning again, as his first love, which is where this story begins.
He has 2 children, 4 grandchildren and has been a maverick, adventurer and wisdom seeker throughout his life, always regarding himself as an international citizen.
Peter is now enjoying a quieter lifestyle, building, gardening, writing and playing his ukulele.
If you would like to contact Peter about this book, or his wider sailing exploits, please email him at keatingontheroad@hotmail.com
He has a degree in psychology from the University of Tasmania and spent time teaching maths and science in Hobart, NSW and London in the 1970s and 1980s.
He became an international sailor, owning 5 yachts ranging from 34ft to 104ft and completed over 200,000 ocean miles, sailing deep into the Pacific and crossing all the oceans of the world. He circumnavigated, using only a sextant, both east-about and west-about.
Returning to Australia in the late 1990s, Peter built a stone castle as an esoteric and healing centre, but returned to oceaning again, as his first love, which is where this story begins.
He has 2 children, 4 grandchildren and has been a maverick, adventurer and wisdom seeker throughout his life, always regarding himself as an international citizen.
Peter is now enjoying a quieter lifestyle, building, gardening, writing and playing his ukulele.
If you would like to contact Peter about this book, or his wider sailing exploits, please email him at keatingontheroad@hotmail.com