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 enlarge | Authors: Tania Aebi, Bernadette Brennan
Publisher: Ballantine Books
Category: Book
List Price: $14.95
Buy Used: $1.98
You Save: $12.97 (87%)
New (38) Used (44) Collectible (3) from $1.98
Rating:  82 reviews
Sales Rank: 26985
Media: Paperback
Number Of Items: 1
Pages: 304
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.6
Dimensions (in): 8.1 x 5.4 x 0.9
ISBN: 0345410122
Dewey Decimal Number: 910.41
EAN: 9780345410122
ASIN: 0345410122
Publication Date: September 29, 1996
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
Shipping: Expedited shipping available
Condition: front lcover bent at top right corner, cover scratched a little, but overall good shape Used - Good
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| Customer Reviews:
 Review July 12, 2008
Very happy with the book. Very well written and a delight to read about this interesting girl sailor. Service was excellent arrived on time and in the codition stated.
 Aebi created a great adventure read May 15, 2008
This book has never ceased to amaze me. Everytime I pick it up to read, I feel like I have put it down too soon. I only wish I could keep reading and finish this beautiful tale that includes a hint of romance, plenty of insight into dysfunctional relationships, pure miracles, and of course a healthy dose of adventure. This book is non-ficton but sure reads like an adventure novel. Tania's story is truly amazing and this book is now on my list of favorite books of all time.
maiden voyage April 20, 2008
this is a re-read for me. I bought this book to share with a friend. Loved it!
Exciting vogage February 10, 2008
It is unbelievable that a young girl could sail around the world by herself, dealing with all the conditions. It was an amazing book and fun to read.
A gripping story of raw adventure, fear and joy, and the undefeatable tenacity of a young woman's spirit. February 10, 2008
1 out of 2 found this review helpful
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
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