Life Boat

Orphaned at five, nothing held Whidden back from embarking on sea life seven years later. Serving as an apprentice, he quickly proved his worth and earned himself a mate's position by his early 20s. Graduating to third, second, and first office, he ended his career in command of, and having part-ownership of, his own vessel. Ocean Life in the Old Sailing Ship Days records a series of real events from his childhood impressions of rough and ready seamen to his thrilling and brutal experiences of war.

Cat brothers Cecil and Anton are as different in personality as they are in looks. Cecil, stocky and black with white patches, thirsts for seafaring adventure as he roams the docks of his harborside home, taking day trips on fishing boats when the chance comes along. Slim, gray Anton prefers listening to the sailors' shanties at the town saloon. But one day when Anton does venture to port, he's stolen off the dock, and the next thing he knows, he's at sea.

In the aftermath of World War One, everyone in the small English town of Barton is trying to rebuild their lives. Ben is living alone in his father’s old narrowboat, the Sparrowhawk, avoiding the town constable, who is threatening to send him to the orphanage, and awaiting news of his older brother, Sam, who was injured in France and has been declared missing. Lotti’s horrible aunt and uncle want to send her away from her beloved home to boarding school - just when she has so successfully managed to get expelled from her last one.

You just tried out for the school play. Who wants the lead part more than anyone? YOU! Imagine sailing on the biggest, most beautiful ship in the world. Eating fine food. Wearing fancy clothes and partying with some very rich people. But be careful what you wish for. That might not be the way it was for a cabin attendant on Titanic…

**Awards:** New Mexico-Arizona Book Award Finalist, 2024; Royal Dragonfly First Place in Letters, Diaries, and Journals, 2024; Global Book Awards Silver Medalist in Biography and Memoir, 2024. Do you want to get away from it all? Meet Kent. Overwhelmed by the indifference of his South Dakota undergraduate students and fed up with American politics of the 1980s, he yearns for a life of adventure. Then, he discovers sailboats. While retirement seems financially out of reach, living on a sailboat opens up a world of exhilarating possibilities. Imagine letting the wind guide your family ...

The sea, the sea, the sea. It rolled and rolled and called to me. Come in, it said, come in. Thirteen-year-old Sophie is the only girl amongst the crew of The Wanderer, made up of her three uncles and two cousins. They sail across the Atlantic toward England, the land of Bompie, her grandfather. The personal journey she takes brings her deeper into a forgotten past than she ever knew possible. Sophie’s 13-year-old cousin Cody isn’t sure why his father brought him along. Everyone, including his dad, thinks he’s nothing but a knucklehead doofus.

The Lifeboat is the third novel in the Skidian Chronicles series. In The Lifeboat an asteroid is on a collision course with earth. It soon transpires the asteroid has been sent on its way by the Skidian first people who have uploaded themselves to a celestial version of the cloud and now define themselves as Transcendents. The Transcendents have a plan for humanity which doesn't include an asteroid strike killing us all off. The plot contains plenty of parallels with current world politics, including the introduction of a character based on a certain ginger haired world leader. The Lifeboat...

If you want to get to know eleven-year-old Samantha Ali-O’Connor, you need to know three things: One, she isn’t the only one of her siblings who is adopted, but she is the only one whose name isn't inspired by the ocean. Two, she and Harbor always compete with each other to be the best Oldest Sibling—and just about everything else. And three, she is determined to prove she's a real Ali-O'Connor by taking over the family business, repairing and chartering boats. Except there's a Capital-P Problem: Her mothers have been Serious Whispering about selling the business before summer's end!

The second book in this series continues of the second generation of Shane Taylor, and his son Weston. Together they and their steamboats, and Shane's ferry which was the first ferry in Hannibal, and St. Louis, Missouri. Together they will make history from 1832 -1865. Weston and the first steam gun boat will become involved in the early days of the Civil War on the Mississippi, Tennessee, and Columbia Rivers, before the Ironclads appear. Their loyalty to the Union cause will help free all the rivers from the Confederate advancement, and control of the Mississippi River.

After nearly drowning in Greece, Christine Stovell was determined never to get on a boat again. The sailing kind? Definitely not. Yet when she married a keen sailor and became joint owner of a vintage wooden yacht, she somehow managed to sail halfway round Britain, despite never finding her sea legs. Insightful, funny and raw, Christine’s story captures the joy, terror and wonder of a novice, seasick sailor out on the waves in a small wooden boat. Her adventures have taken her through sleepy backwaters and high seas, from Essex to west Wales and across to France. Along the way, she’s ...

In Alaska, 1970, being a teenager here isn’t like being a teenager anywhere else. Ruth has a secret that she can’t hide forever. Dora wonders if she can ever truly escape where she comes from, even when good luck strikes. Alyce is trying to reconcile her desire to dance, with the life she’s always known on her family’s fishing boat. Hank and his brothers decide it’s safer to run away than to stay home - until one of them ends up in terrible danger. Four very different lives are about to become entangled.

Gary Paulsen takes listeners along on his maiden voyage, proving that ignorance can be bliss. Also really stupid and incredibly dangerous. He tells of boats that owned him, good, bad, and beloved, and how they got him through terrifying storms that he survived by sheer luck. His spare prose conjures up shark surprises and killer waves as well as moonlight on the sea, and makes listeners feel what it’s like to sail under the stars or to lie at anchor in a tropical lagoon where dolphins leap, bathed in silver.

The Ugly Daughter is a thrilling memoir, the gripping true story of a young girl who witnessed horrific murders and who overcame cruel abuse and unimaginable tragedies to find love and happiness. Julia Legian's emotionally, harrowing and fascinating memoir reveals how she endured a series of unbelievable tragedies and heartbreaking abuse from the hands of her parents and great aunty, and how she rose above her horrendous past to have a successful and happy life. It's beautifully written with simplicity and shocking honesty. The Ugly Daughter is a wonderful reminder that regardless of your ...

She never thought she'd fall for a younger man, but with Cee, it was so easy... There aren't enough hours in the day, and struggling single mom Jes just can't make it alone. Fortunately, a fantastic nanny just became available. Stacey is the perfect candidate: Young, college educated, glowing references... Trouble is, the nanny is a manny! The last thing Jes expects is a tall, muscular, handsome stranger on her porch looking for work as a nanny. The last thing Jess wants is a new man complicating her life. But Jes needs the help and there's no one better for the job than Stacey "Cee" Cook. ...

1941. After the death of her beloved mother, nineteen-year-old Romilly Brooks impulsively accepts a job as a nanny, accompanying eight-year-old Freddie and his grandmother on a sea voyage from war-torn London to the safety of New York. From the first, Romilly is entranced by the opulent ocean liner… if only she could put the idea of German U-boats circling beneath the waves out of her mind.

The ghost ship The Flying Dutchman has been spotted around the world for centuries. According to legend, this spooky ship is doomed to roam the seas forever, unable to make port. The ship is thought to be a bad omen for anyone who encounters it. Dating back to the 1600s, alleged sightings of the legendary ghost ship continue to this day.

You just tried out for the school play. Who wants the lead part more than anyone? YOU! Imagine sailing the high seas without a care in the world. Storming castles for gold and jewels. Wearing a horned helmet. But be careful what you wish for. That might not be the way it was for an explorer on a Viking ship.…

John Ortberg invites you to consider the incredible potential that awaits you outside your comfort zone. Out on the risky waters of faith, Jesus is waiting to meet you in ways that will change you forever, deepening your character and your trust in God. The experience is terrifying. It's thrilling beyond belief. It's everything you'd expect of someone worthy to be called Lord.

As founder and editor of the highly successful magazine Latitudes & Attitudes, he surveys and comments on the good and the bad, the funny and the sad, the practical and the theoretical of the sailing scene. This collection of his editorials and other writings is full of useful advice, keen observations and, yes, some outrageous comments, the way only Bob can put them on paper.

When ten-year-old Michael Baughman moves to Hawaii with his parents, he is troubled and confused. His father doesn’t provide the guidance Baughman needs, and the boy doesn’t know who to turn to. When a larger-than-life Hawaiian beach boy named Boat takes Baughman under his wing, the boy finds a teacher and mentor. Boat is 285 pounds of solid muscle and gentle spirituality.