This Is It (2 Hemispheres, 2 People, and 1 Boat)

By Jackie Parry (self-published; $19 print, $3 e-book)

Jackie and Noel Parry, a wellmatched pair of sea gypsies, are at it again. (Parry’s book about their previous circumnavigation, Of Foreign Build, was published in 2014.) This latest, two-year journey takes them (by air) from their home in Australia to California, in search of another boat. In San Francisco, they find her: an Aleutian 51, Pyewacket II. After making her sea-ready, they embark on an epic journey back to Oz, first heading south to Mexico, Costa Rica and Ecuador (with an overland trip to Peru); to Panama (to retrieve new sails); then west to the Galapagos. They cruise onward across the Pacific, sailing off the beaten path to explore some of the most remote islands on the planet before they point their bow toward home. This is more than a cruising tale; it’s a journal of life well-lived in the present moment. Parry writes with depth, perception and likable humor. An appendix of bonus material full of practical information will be useful for those following in their wake. Warning: Reading this book might lead you to buy a boat, cut your ties to land and follow the author’s advice: “Seize life. ... Step outside the box, and allow your light to shine. This … right now … is it.”