Product Description

Two pensioners and a whippet sail their English narrowboat down America's 1,000 mile long Atlantic Intracoastal Waterway...

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #462 in Books
• Published on: 2008-04-07
• Binding: Hardcover
• 320 pages

Synopsis
Having survived their voyage to Carcassonne, you would expect pensioners Terry and Monica Darlington and their whippet, Jim, to retire to a comfortable corner of their favourite public house. But no, they looked to the New World for their extraordinary new adventure...No-one has ever sailed an English narrowboat in the US before, for reasons that become clear during the 9-month voyage of the Phyllis May - including 30-mile sea crossings, blasting heat, tornadoes, hurricanes and all manner of intimidating wildlife.But the real danger comes from the Good Ole Boys and Girls of the Deep South. Colonels, bums, captains, planters, heroes, drunks, gongoozlers, dancing dicks and beautiful spies - they all want to meet the Brits on the painted boat and their thin dog and take them home and party them to death. And from the Phyllis May, a thousand miles of the little-known South-East Seaboard unfold at six miles an hour- the golden marshes of the Carolinas, the incomparable cities of Charleston and Savannah, and the lost arcadias of Georgia and Florida.

Beautifully written, lovingly observed, and very funny, "Narrow Dog to Indian River" takes you on a dangerous, surprising and always entertaining journey.

From the Inside Flap
Having survived their adventure through France to Carcassonne, you might have expected septuagenarians Terry and Monica Darlington (not forgetting Jim the whippet) to retire to a corner in the nearest public house. But no, seized by the spirit of Columbus, they looked to the New World and the massive and little-explored Atlantic Intracoastal Waterway which stretches from Virginia to the Gulf of Mexico…

Noone had sailed a narrowboat in the US before, for reasons that became clear during the 1,150-mile voyage of the Phyllis May- including thirty-mile sea crossings, waves, storms, fog, tornadoes, hurricanes, savage fish, poison algae, killer spiders and starving alligators.

But the real danger came from the Good Ole Boys and Girls of the Deep South who were waiting along the shore. Captains and Colonels, bums and heroes, fishermen and plantation owners, weathergirls and gongoozlers and beautiful spies, dancing dicks and the walking dead - all wanting to meet the Brits on the painted boat and their narrow dog and take them home and party them to death.

The beautiful eastern coasts of the US - the Carolinas, Charleston, Savannah, the wilds of Georgia and Florida - are unknown to many, and few have experienced the countryside and the people as closely as the crew of the Phyllis May. This is America with a smile on its face and an arm around your shoulder…

Beautifully written, lovingly observed and very funny, Narrow Dog to Indian River takes you on a sometimes dangerous, always entertaining voyage through a wonderland but a few steps off the track.

About the Author
TERRY DARLINGTON was brought up in Pembroke Dock. He moved to Stone, Staffordshire, where he founded Research Associates, the market research company, and Stone Master Marathoners, the running club. Like many Welshmen he is ill at ease with practical matters and known to linger in public houses. He likes boating but doesn't know much about it.
MONICA DARLINGTON's father was a gardener and her mother a housemaid. She was beauty queen of Brecon and Radnor, has a 1st class degree, has run 30 marathons, and leaps tall buildings with a single bound. She quite likes boating.
BRYNULA GREAT EXPECTATIONS (JIM) is sprung from a long line of dogs with ridiculous names. Cowardly, thieving and disrespectful, he hates boating.

Customer Reviews

outstanding
This is a truly entertaining tale. Terry, Monica and Jim are so vividly described that you feel you are actually on the adventure with them. The breathless, 'run away' style of prose gives a real feel of each event so that you can enjoy the pace and activity in person.The amusing descriptions are delightful and the whole book is a wonderful read.

An Excellent Read
After reading Narrow Dog to Carcassonne I was eager to read Narrow Dog to Indian River and I wasn't dissappointed. It was absorbing and humorous and made me laugh out loud at times. For anyone interested in Travel and/ or Canal Boating this is a must and would be an excellent holiday read. Terry, Monica and Jim are an intrepid trio and I hope there is more to come. B. Lace

I didn't want it to end.....
As with Narrow Dog to Carcassonne - I didn't want this book to end. I looked forward to reading not too many pages every night (tried to spin it out longer).It is a joyful,easy and happy read which really captures the character and characters of the Deep South and their strange but hospitable ways. Good Luck and thanks to the crew of the Phyllis May - I am looking forward to your next journey!