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Black Wave: A Family's Adventure at Sea and the Disaster That Saved Them
“I told God that if he would let us survive this night, I would make it mean something worthwhile. And then, somehow, I felt calmer than I have ever felt. Unreasonably so. Irrationally so. I looked over the scene of our wrecked life and I smiled–a crazy smile for sure–and I looked through the dark at the mad beauty of it.”
–Jean Silverwood
An exhilarating true-life adventure...more
–Jean Silverwood
An exhilarating true-life adventure...more
ebook, 240 pages
Published
July 1st 2008
by Random House
(first published 2008)
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I could not put this book down. I opened the wrapper it came in, glanced at the first page, and did not move for three and a half hours while I absolutely inhaled this book. In the manner of "Into Thin Air" by Jon Krakauer, this story is riveting. It is difficult to fathom what this family experienced.
The inclusion of the other ship wrecked on the same reef was a nice addition, although not necessary to the ability of the story to capture the reader's attention.
What a great read! This was an ear...more
The inclusion of the other ship wrecked on the same reef was a nice addition, although not necessary to the ability of the story to capture the reader's attention.
What a great read! This was an ear...more
In 2003, after two years at sea, the 55-foot catamaran sailed by the Silverwoods, a suburban California family that chucked it all to sail around the world, hit a reef off the South Pacific island of Scilly, putting the life of Jean and John and their four children (ages five to 16) in peril. The first part of the book is written from Jean's perspective as she opens with the wreck and then moves smoothly between the family's fight for survival and the story of their journey. By juxtaposing the t...more
Black Wave reminded me of the Albert Brooks’ film Lost in America; both are about dreamers and their ill-fated, ill-advised escapes from modern suburban California life by packing up and heading out into the open – except Brooks’ movie is fictional, funny and no one was harmed in the making. Not so in the Silverwood’s partially-around-the-world sea-capade in a catamaran called Emerald Jane. The Silverwoods include a mother, Jean, with family still in Pleasantville, NY, an alcoholic father, John,...more
"If I'm sleeping, then nothing hurts me." --John Silverwood, trying to explain to his two youngest children that he is likely to die in the next few minutes
Interesting but really, really, really padded account of a family's shipwreck. The family was a married couple and their four children, ages 16, 14, 9, and 5. They spent more than a year sailing the Atlantic and Pacific before their catamaran ran aground on a coral reef and broke apart. I'd thought that children as young as 9 and 5 might not...more
Interesting but really, really, really padded account of a family's shipwreck. The family was a married couple and their four children, ages 16, 14, 9, and 5. They spent more than a year sailing the Atlantic and Pacific before their catamaran ran aground on a coral reef and broke apart. I'd thought that children as young as 9 and 5 might not...more
I didn't like this book. There were moments where it seemed to get better but much of the book I was just trying to get through. I wouldn't have finished except for it was a discussion book for my book club.
The writing was choppy and non linear. I didn't really find any of the main characters to be very likeable. The wife was rude and kept bring up her husband's alcoholism. She also seemed to alternate between how great and wonderful their family was (Yay God!) and how completely disfunctional...more
The writing was choppy and non linear. I didn't really find any of the main characters to be very likeable. The wife was rude and kept bring up her husband's alcoholism. She also seemed to alternate between how great and wonderful their family was (Yay God!) and how completely disfunctional...more
I first heard about this book last year when I got a notice to put in the church bulletin that the authors would be speaking at a local fireside. I reserved it at the library but did not have time to read it the first time it became available. This time I got it on CD and listened while cleaning a bedroom late into the night. The first part is told by the mother: the accident, their family history, and typical days on the high seas. It's not particularly well written but it was like having Jean...more
Wow! This family of 6 decided to take first one year, then 2 years off of their lives and travel the world by sea on a catamaran. As they traveled they learned to live in a small space, depend on one another and work together as a family. The mom home schooled them each morning and then they spent their afternoons snorkeling, scuba diving, and exploring where they'd port. They spent long weeks sometimes in exotic places like Panama and then long stretches at sea. Their journey is cut short when...more
Tom got me this book on audible.com and I listened to it on my iTouch while I was doing chores and working on a sewing project. Listening to this story certainly made the time fly! I have an innate, completely irrational fear of the deep sea and this book played right into that fear. Any chance of getting me onto a seafaring vessel has now been firmly squashed!
This is a true story about a California family of 6 who, in 2003, purchased a good sized catamaran sailboat and set off for a year at se...more
This is a true story about a California family of 6 who, in 2003, purchased a good sized catamaran sailboat and set off for a year at se...more
I don't particularly like disaster sea stories since simple mistakes that elicit all sorts of drama seem to sell stories (where are the bestsellers about sea voyages that are enlightening and good, where nothing very bad happens?). I'm a sailor, but unless we do something stupid, we don't encounter many problems. However, I met John and his son Jack last year at one of the sailboat shows, while we were sitting next to one another at the Authors Corner. I had a couple of great conversations with...more
This book has cemented in my mind that sailing is for crazy people. The story was interesting and entertaining, but I found them to be a bit preachy when it came to explaining the whole "the world is a schoolroom". They tried to sound noble saying the trip was for their kids education, but this was totally about them, not the family. I love the ending when John explains how he watched a young family at the zoo enjoying the "extraordinary beauty of the planet" then mentions how lucky his family w...more
This book is more a memoir of Jean Silverwood's experience of going to sea with her family than it is a true seafarer's adventure story. Having read many of those, as the wife of a sailor, I expected there to be more about the sailing conditions, details about the boat, and the disaster alluded to in the title. (Sea disasters usually end up with survivors floating for days in open rubber life rafts, thirsty, hungry, and sunbaked before they are finally rescued.) So if you are looking for the typ...more
Aug 19, 2008
Barbara
rated it
4 of 5 stars
·
review of another edition
Recommends it for:
anyone who likes survival stories
Recommended to Barbara by:
Seminole County Public Library
I couldn't put this book down! A great book about a family's survival at sea.... with a bit of historical fiction mixed in.....
About a family who decided to take their kids out of their comfortable suburban lives and sail for a year so they could see the "real world.". They end up crashing on a coral reef in the pacific. 1st half is about the crash- in terrifying detail-and their trip up to that point... Very interesting. 2nd half is about the dad's recovery and 2 ships that had sailed in the same area hundreds of years earlier. The Julia Ann sailed and crashed in the same spot and miraculously lived for 2 npmoths then...more
True story of a family who took off in their sailboat for a "trip of a lifetime" to get away from the ratrace of the world. They left Norfolk, VA, headed to Bermuda, the Virgin Islands, Lesser Antilles, Aruba, Panama Canal, to Ecuador, Galapagos, and off to the South Pacific to Tahiti. They hit a coral reef which tore their boat apart, the father gets his leg crushed by the fallen mast, etc. Of course, they eventually get rescued. Not a heartwarming story to a woman whose husband wants to consta...more
Guess what? I read another sailing disaster book. I'm hooked on these for some reason.
Um, I guess I'd give this 3 stars, but I have some reservations. The book starts off with a bang, narrated by Jean Silverwood -- the family of 6, traveling by catamaran in the South Pacific, crash on a reef. Then the mast falls on top of dad (John Silverwood), and, oh my god, one of the spreaders cuts right through his leg. Whoa. So that kept me pretty riveted. Jean then goes back, describing how the family be...more
Um, I guess I'd give this 3 stars, but I have some reservations. The book starts off with a bang, narrated by Jean Silverwood -- the family of 6, traveling by catamaran in the South Pacific, crash on a reef. Then the mast falls on top of dad (John Silverwood), and, oh my god, one of the spreaders cuts right through his leg. Whoa. So that kept me pretty riveted. Jean then goes back, describing how the family be...more
I remember when this was in the news and was hoping to learn more about the trip before the wreck and the rescue.
Most of the book is about the wreck and the wreck of their marriage. Made me wonder why they would embark on this adventure when it appears they had many unresolved issues that just don't get better when 6 people are confined in a very small space like a boat.
There are happy moments and happy times but not as many as there should have been.
Not too much on the actual rescue.
If you like...more
Most of the book is about the wreck and the wreck of their marriage. Made me wonder why they would embark on this adventure when it appears they had many unresolved issues that just don't get better when 6 people are confined in a very small space like a boat.
There are happy moments and happy times but not as many as there should have been.
Not too much on the actual rescue.
If you like...more
Apr 03, 2009
Michelle
rated it
3 of 5 stars
·
review of another edition
Recommended to Michelle by:
Kimi Shelton
Enjoyed this book about a family's 2 year trip on their catamaran, sailing the Carribean and the South Pacific. Would have liked more discussion about the various islands they visited and the day in, day out aspect of being at sea for so long. Also the wife's section of writing sort of ended abruptly: "we were rescued, we returned to our life in CA, we're doing fine." I wanted to know more about the husband's surgeries and recovery. Not quite as interested in the husband's telling of a previous...more
Jean and John Silverwood, and their four children Ben, Amelia, Jack and Camille left their every day lives behind to sail across the world on a catamaran, their beloved Emerald Jane. They had many adventures on the way, from outrunning pirates to the relaxation of paradise in Tahiti. They had problems with their boat, but fairly minor ones that could be fixed, just requiring a longer stay in whichever Port they were at, and of course, much money changed hands!
Two years into their journey, it cam...more
Two years into their journey, it cam...more
The poem "Dover Beach" begins, "The sea is calm tonight. . . ." And yet the poem ends with a prediction of overwhelming doom as well as the safety within love. It is a fitting match to the book, "Black Wave." This true adventure story, "Black Wave," follows the Silverwood family of San Diego as their family embarks on a sailing adventure from the East Coast of the USA to the South Pacific.
Jean Silverwood, wife and mother, opens the book with a narration of the accident on a coral reef that ended...more
Jean Silverwood, wife and mother, opens the book with a narration of the accident on a coral reef that ended...more
A family adventure living on a sailboat is recounted in two main sections. The wife/mother walks you through the travels, family conflicts, ups and downs of the four kids' moods, and her husband's struggles with drinking, all surrounding the central story of their accidentally hitting a reef during a storm. Her husband lost a leg in this incident, and they were all at grave risk of dying.
The husband/father's part of the book gives some insight into how he dealt with the pain and helplessness un...more
The husband/father's part of the book gives some insight into how he dealt with the pain and helplessness un...more
Feb 14, 2010
Diana
rated it
3 of 5 stars
·
review of another edition
Shelves:
non-fiction,
adventure
The actual writing, the text and its form left something to be desired but as I was swiflty caught up in the current of their very true, very real trials and triumphs over the seas; it didn't matter so much.
I began to feel as though they were recanting the voyage of their "cat", the Emerald Jane , while sitting across the table from me. I could visualize the places they've seen, the surfaces of the catamaran, feel the lull of the waves, the isolation and the fickleness of Poseidon's moods chur...more
I began to feel as though they were recanting the voyage of their "cat", the Emerald Jane , while sitting across the table from me. I could visualize the places they've seen, the surfaces of the catamaran, feel the lull of the waves, the isolation and the fickleness of Poseidon's moods chur...more
This memoir chronicles Jean and John Silverwood's adventure (and disaster) at sea. It seemed like they had it all...wonderful children, a successful business, and plenty of money, but they wanted something more, so the entire family set off on the adventure trip of a lifetime. They rented out their house, bought a catamaran, took the kids out of school, packed up their stuff and sailed into the blue horizon, with the intention of spending the year sailing around the world. The story is an intere...more
For me, this book was very difficult to read. I got about 110 pages into the book before I stopped reading. Even with all the drama of their disaster at sea, the story was pretty boring. It took Jean, who wrote the first part, more than 40 pages to get to their actual time at sea. The family history that came before that was not really that interesting. Also, when Jean spoke about her kids, she never seemed able to describe them well enough to make them feel real. Jean's writing wasn't very good...more
This is a fantastic family friendly adventure that I will read to my childeren! Definately worthy of the full five stars.
I think this book has a mixed rating because of all of those that believe the cost of adventure is too high, and the rewards are not worth it.
"he shouldn't be endagering his family blah blah blah.."
Well you can try and stay safe in your bubble wrapped cocoon if you like, but for me and John Silverwood the call of the wild is something that can't be ignored.
I'm a sucker for stories of adventure, disaster, then triumph and this book didn't disappoint. The book recounts the experience of a suburban Southern California family who decided to step away from the rat race to sail around the world with their family. While at sea, the family deals with sibling warfare, their father's alcoholism, storms, pirates, and eventually a shipwreck.
What I liked about this book was it told the story of a "normal" family, warts and all, and describes what happens when...more
What I liked about this book was it told the story of a "normal" family, warts and all, and describes what happens when...more
This book is divided into two parts: first, the wife narrates; then, the husband gives his version of the adventure. The wife's version is much more interesting. The husband's account goes into extensive detail about a ship in the mid 1800s that crashed on the same reef. It's interesting, no doubt, but the pace of the book slows considerably.
I like to dream of attempting the same adventure with my own family someday, and so I was naturally drawn in by the adventure and the logistics of their tr...more
I like to dream of attempting the same adventure with my own family someday, and so I was naturally drawn in by the adventure and the logistics of their tr...more
This was one of the best books I've read in a while. I suppose I'll hold back on a five star rating but I'm not quite sure why.
The story focuses on a family's struggle to survive an unbelievable disaster and against all odds. But it also delves much into the before and after of it. I thought it was beautifully written and found it hard to put down.
The first half of the book, which is where most of the history and action takes place, is written by Jean, the wife and mother of the family. And it's...more
The story focuses on a family's struggle to survive an unbelievable disaster and against all odds. But it also delves much into the before and after of it. I thought it was beautifully written and found it hard to put down.
The first half of the book, which is where most of the history and action takes place, is written by Jean, the wife and mother of the family. And it's...more
What do you do when your year-long sailing trip is interrupted by your catamaran crashing onto a coral reef in the middle of the night in the middle of the ocean? It's just you and your four children...oh, and your husband whose leg has been almost sheared off when the mast comes crashing down on it? Jean Silverwood deftly weaves the story of their sailing disaster together with the adventures they've experienced up to this point. She's honest and funny...and incredibly brave.
The book is journalistic in nature, so the writing isn't super. It is the story of the shipwreck and the events leading up to the sailing trip told in alternating chapters. It is hard to follow the two stories. That said, I was impressed with their strength, courage and determination. I also found interesting the part of the book written by John Siverwood, about a shipwreck in the 1800's on the same reef.
I have actually met John Silverwood at my Venturing Recognition Dinner. I was amazed at his story, I have seen it on I Shouldn't Be Alive on Animal planet and I sstill get chills thinking about his speech he gave at the dinner about the story and the event. I hope everyone reads this book, because no matter how much you might want, you can't put this book down till the ever end.
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Oct 07, 2011 05:11am