Sailing book of the week- Sea Dreams in the Adriatic

by Keith Earngey on 23 Aug 2011 This luscious book follows on from the authors' previous work, Sea Dreams Sailing the Western Mediterranean,by Rob and Rosemary Peterswald, published in 2010. I loved the Western Med, but I have to admit I have been bowled over again by the Adriatic.

This book records, with beautiful photographs and insightful description, the journey of the yacht Sea Dreams as it sails from the Messina Strait, across the foot of Italy to the Adriatic, one of the world’s most beautiful and historically interesting seas. She visits the south east coast of Italy, Montenegro, Croatia and comes to rest in Venice, reporting on local food and wine along the way.

Most people who have travelled in Europe will have fallen in love with the Mediterranean – I have vivid memories of back-packing from Venice down the Dalmatian coast to Kotor, when the area was still under communist rule and somewhat suspicious of scruffy young foreigners with beards.

How times have changed, it is now the playground of the rich and beautiful

The voyage of Sea Dreams opens up a world that most of us can only dream of. There are so many places a yacht can explore, and so much beauty that is denied those of us jostling crowds ashore. Rather than a pokey hotel room at the edge of town a yacht can give you the best room on the harbour or in some romantic bay.

The book brings to life the rich beauty and diverse cultural identities of the Adriatic and weaves the historical threads that go back to the beginning of time. The Phoenicians, Greeks, Romans, Venetians, the Ottomans and the Byzantines, and many others have loved and fought in the Adriatic, and there are memories of them everywhere.

As with their previous book almost every page has a photograph that tells a story, and it is a book that you can visit many times and still find something new and interesting to dream about. I particularly enjoy joining the party at the many sea side konobas (traditional restaurants) and sampling a few too many of the current vintage.

Available through most leading bookstores, including Boat Books and on line by www.ballynastraghbooks.com.au!clicking_here, or http://www.cart.com.au/in2books/view/0/80564328/!here