Product Description

In October 1993 the Ridgways closed their school of adventure and left their croft on the west coast of Scotland to embark on an 18-month adventure voyage to the Pacific and back in their yacht, the "English Rose VI". This is the story of one family's dream to "get away from it all". It tells how John Ridgway, his wife Marie Christine, their daughter Rebecca and their adopted Quechua Indian daughter Elizabeth decided to weather violent storms, tempestuous arguments and everyday domestic life against a backdrop of not-so-ordinary locations: an Atlantic crossing; the Caribbean; the Panama Canal; the South Sea Islands; South America (including a trip to Peru where Elizabeth has a moving reunion with her family); and Antactica.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #409347 in Books
• Published on: 1996-10-24
• Original language: English
• Binding: Hardcover
• 320 pages

Len Deighton
'Buy this wonderful book'

Marie Claire
'You'll love the story of the Ridgway family'

Independent on Sunday
'The book gives an entertaining and frank account of a family living at close quarters on the yacht' (Sunday Independent))

Customer Reviews

Inspiring, honest and an entertaining good read!
Having visited the Ridgway school of adventure, the book helped me to re-capture the 'messages' learnt from that single week in my life. The Ridgway family prove, despite many obstacles, that your goal can be achieved if you really want to achieve it - the adventures contained in the book are testimony to this. I liked the fact that the book was written by all 3, and I found it easy to understand the different personalities from the different writing styles. The book seemed to unfold into a series of mini stories through each leg of their journey, making it easy to keep picking it up to read.
I thoroughly enjoyed the book, and have since read other books written by the family about their adventures.

A sailing epic journey with an interesting cast
This was an unforgetable journey written in a sometimes understated way but with loads of authenticating detail. The writing had the character of a journey to be stayed with and not ended, in fact, rather like the voyage itself, for how could we as readers or the Ridgeways allow for the permanency of dry-land after all the difficult adjustments - acclimatisations and the group dynamics - onboard a boat. The reader has the luxury of the penned hands of the three Ridgeways throughout and this gives a greater feeling of the teamwork involved as well as breaking up the prose from what might otherwise be an unrelenting read. The experiences of wife and daughter contrast well with that of leader John. Had an even better visualization of 'their' Antarctic oasis from the cross-reference made to the book by Tim and Pauline Carr, a couple whom they seek out on the spendid island of South Georgia. It is a pretty that so much of the lands/islands they pass through have so suffered at the forces of man - and in particular through rampant tourism. I liked all of the cast, a fine lot of people; I'm especially jealous of all that find cooking done on boat by marie-Christine. I would love to have tasted all her dishes but then I was worried by the possibility of being holed by a large Whale. Were they, I wonder? Some of the storms sounded really terrifying and the long bouts of sea-sickness really aweful for this reader. How can one acustom to that? A fine read then, with not too many unanswered questions, except perhaps, that the maps are too small and I was unable to appreciate all the meanderings in Argentina and Peru. Thank goodness all of you made it back safely - including the now infamous Polynesian cat!

Not for everyone
If you are really into the outdoor life, especially sailing, then this may be very interesting. I'm not, but I usually like travel/adventure stories. Here I found the multiple narrators confusing and gave up halfway through.