Gin's Tonic- Ocean Voyage, Inner Journey

by Nancy Knudsen on 28 Apr 2010 She was just a little girl when she began to dream, and decades passed before it came to fruition. In between, Ginni McRobert grew up, married, moved to Hong Kong, raised a family.

But she never forgot.

And on October 1st 2006 she took Henry the Dog, Coco the Cat and sailed away solo to circumnavigate the world on her 13.7 metre catamaran Dai Long Wan. 'Gin's Tonic: Ocean Voyage, Inner Journey' is the story of her round-world journey, accompanied by various crew members along the way.

Ginni's book was launched by Proverse Hong Kong at the Royal Hong Kong Yacht Club in March, and she went on to make addresses which were 'waiting-list only' at various venues in Hong Kong.

The book itself is a tome of over 500 pages, told 'log' style, on a day-by-day basis, with all of the various adventures, vicissitudes and daily experiences of her round world trip, and the style is fresh and engaging. There are the storms, pirate episodes, engine breakdowns, as well as the wonder of the ocean and the amazing variety of cultures in the countries that she visited, while the crew changed from time to time. The stories are augmented by a large inset of attractive colour plates of the various adventures of the voyage and of the crew that accompanied her.

If you'd like to undertake such a journey, but can't afford the time, this is an easy way to do it by lounge chair, and it would make a great gift for anyone who loves the ocean.

The voyage started in Hong Kong, led down through Asia, visiting Singapore, Langkawi, Phuket, across the the Indian Ocean to the Seychelles, then round the most southerly point of Africa. After crossing the Atlantic she made her way through the Caribbean to the Panama Canal, then across the Pacific and back to Hong Kong, arriving on the 9th March, 2008. The trip lasted a total of 493 days, 265 of which were on the ocean.

To read more background in a previous Sail-World edition, click http://www.sail-world.com/Australia/Women-sailing-adventurers:-Ginny-MacRobert/62809!Sail-World_Story.

To purchase the book on Amazon, click http://www.amazon.com/Gins-Tonic-Ocean-Voyage-Journey/dp/9881772435!Amazon

To obtain the book through the publishers, Proverse of Hong Kong, click http://proversepublishing.com/yahoo_site_admin/assets/docs/Advance_Order_Form_Gins_Tonic_2_January_2010.101847.pdf!Proverse.