Book Review- The Voyage of the Cormorant

The Voyage of the Cormorant - an unexpected tale SW

'I built Cormorant, my 18-foot open boat, in 22 months – from August 2005 to June 2007 – on weekends and nights in the single-car garage of the studio apartment I rented...I laminated stem and stern pieces; set up molds for the hull on a building frame; cut, bent, and secured planks; and saw a vessel steadily emerge from my efforts.'

Published last month © SW

Christian Beamish, a former editor at The Surfer’s Journal, envisioned a low-tech, self-reliant exploration for surf along the coast of North America, using primarily clothes and instruments available to his ancestors, and the 18-foot boat he built by hand in his garage.

How the vision met reality – and how the two came to shape each other – places Voyage of the Cormorant in the great American tradition of tales of life at sea, and what it has to teach us.

Here's what some of the reviewers wrote:

'Christian Beamish's solo, motorless, and totally impractical journey dazzles. In prose as smooth as morning glass, he reminds us of the value of 'blood memory,' and the wisdom of solitude.' Jamie Brisick

'A remarkable story, that contains much that is so deeply human in terms of our relationship to the natural world and our own inner nature. Beautifully written, not only with refreshing honesty, but also with deep humility in the face of enormous courage and privation, this is truly an inspiring and authentic endeavour.' Wayne Lynch

'Beamish craves high-risk challenges that require no one else. This first book describes his pinnacle experience to date: building/single-handing a shockingly small craft deep into Baja with deftly explained waterman sensibilities, and observations, and coastal natives who can only see his going for fun to their place of life and death, as an anomaly.' Steve Pezman

If you can't find the book at your local marine book store, you can purchase it online by http://www.amazon.com/The-Voyage-Cormorant-Christian-Beamish/dp/0980122767!clicking_here.