Read this a few years ago and absolutely loved it. Couldn't put it down and read it in one afternoon!

I enjoyed this book because it’s different than what I typically read. I loved that this was a true story, based on the father and sons experience! Reading their perspectives was really interesting.

STUPID STUPID STUPID STUPID STUPID!! BORING!!!

What a great read, especially for a close look at a father and son relationship. If sailing is anywhere in your background you will count this book among your favorites.

Have you ever had a book that appears out of nowhere from unknown places once upon a time, had it subsequently follow you around everywhere for several years, taunting you at every turn as you both considered and discounted the idea of reading it?

My Old Man and the Sea was that book for the last decade for me.

Granted I do have my suspicions as to where it came from (what rhymes with bomb and has a shopping addiction?), but as to why it was acquired is something I’ll never know. It’s a father-son story that recounts their true tale of sailing in a tiny sailboat around Cape Horn some time in the 1980s. I’m a girl with a tenuous relationship with my parents, whose most worldly experience involved Disney World and Niagara Falls and who couldn’t tell you port from starboard if my life depended on it right now.

All I know for certain is that one day, this book showed up on one of my bookshelves, not-so-subtly tucked between certain books in my collection of fantasy book series without a word or notice from anyone.

And then it began to follow me. It survived three moves, and a couple of book purges. It ended up on my ‘to read’ list on Goodreads. Don’t ask me why or how either, to this day I still don’t really know the reason behind it being so… ever-present in my book-reading life. Even though there wasn’t much about it that appeared to be of any interest to me both in subject matter or story. And yet, I couldn’t drop it.

Finally, I decided it deserved to be exorcised from my life in the only way I knew how to do so: I had to read it. Maybe then it will stop following me. Maybe then I’ll be able to comfortably purge it, once I can confirm and make a formal decision of its contents, for good or ill, although I was leaning towards it being an ill.

I admit I ended up being surprised by how much I did end up enjoying the book.

Don’t get me wrong; it is still a book about sailing, a topic that more or less sails so far over my head that it needs clearance by the FSA. Ergo, there were plenty enough passages and terms used that ended up being accompanied by ‘Huh?’ and ‘What?’ in it that did cut into my ability to enjoy it. Nor did it win me over on the virtues of life on open water or give me the urge to chase the winds. Especially the part where they listed the seven hundred thousand things they had stowed on their boat for this trip. Was that really necessary?

But it still found me on a personal level. Because it was more than just a book about the nitty-gritty of sailing around Cape Horn. It was about the challenge, having to accomplish a difficult goal and facing it head on. It was about accepting that you are only able to control as much as this world will allow, and letting go of the rest. It is about death and life, and how meaningful or meaningless it is depending on how you look at it.

These are all things that we can all relate to; things that doesn’t require us to sit on a boat, and know what jibs are what in order for us to contemplate and find meaning within. And in the end, you look towards the title of the book and wonder who was the "Old Man" that it was referring to.

There were so many heartfelt moments, and moments that cut deep in their story. There was plenty of self-reflection, and some levity as well. And I will always remember Tiger, a creature that probably impacted me the most in their story.

But above all, I found relief. It was done; I had finally put down and away a book that has followed me for so long. In some ways, going cover to cover with this book gave me some peace.

A strange thought when it comes to reading a book. But I think in this case, it was somewhat appropriate.

I had heard good things about this book from a judge who mandated that 17 year old felon on probation read it to learn about courage. An excellent book that talked about the preparations of sailing an ocean trek with a small sailboat as well as the relationship of the father & son. Their relationship was positive but strained during the trip.

David Hays is a fellow synagogue member who sailed around "The Horn" with his son, and they wrote a book together about it. For those of you who read Kon Tikki as kids, this has a lot of sailing adventure and lists of supplies that in that vein... They even visit Easter Island. A fun escapist book.

Father and son David and Dan Hayes took their small sailboat, Sparrow, 17,000 miles from New London, CT to Cape Horn and back. They wrote this book together and what touched me the most was not the dangers they faced or the adventures they enjoyed but their relationship. Not that they always got along! There has to be a captain on a boat and father David resolved that his son Daniel would be the leader. This decision caused much pride and occasional anger. But their humor and love pretty much helped to resolve any situation that arose. Both men write from their hearts and it was a joy to see a father and son so freely love each other.

Great story of a father and son who sail more than 17000 miles in a 25 foot sailboat through the Panama Canal and around Cape Horn.

Unlike Rounding the Horn by Murphy Dallas, this book is far more introspective focusing on the relationship between the father and son. There chapters go back and forth between the father's and son's voice and are taken from the journals they kept during their cruise which begins on the east coast of the U.S., passes through the Panama Canal, stops on the Galapagos and Easter Island and Falklands before finally returning to the mainland at Buenos Aires where the father takes a flight home leaving the son to finish the voyage north. There is considerable talk about the arrangement of things on the boat along with a detailed diagram at the back of the book and there is mention of the weather - of course - but overall there's not much detail about the flora, fauna and land that these two modern day explorers encounter.

A young man and his father build a boat (starting with a pre-fab hull) and then sail it west to east around Cape Horn. This is a pretty good read, although they either had a remarkably easy trip around the Horn or they downplayed the drama. As often happens in this sort of book, the cat falls overboard. I guess that's drama. Still, it's a pity.

Truly an enjoyable read. It was one of nine devoured during my PT recovery.