Elliott Merrick had always wanted to sail the East Coast, but he needed a boat. Not finding what he wanted, amateur cruiser Merrick built his own boat--a twenty-foot sailboat he put together on weekends, in anticipation of the cruise he'd been dreaming of for his entire life. Finally, after retiring, he and his wife set out on the water.
This splendid narrative recounts Merrick's exciting journey from novice to accomplished sailor, capturing the sheer delight of a good day's sail. He describes building his boat, learning how to anchor in new harbors, meeting characters of every sort along the way. Merrick recounts "the unutterable joy of our good days, when the bow wave sparkled white, and the sky was so blue you lost yourself in it."