The Breath of Angels: A True Story of Life and Death at Sea

by John Beattie

Overview

Even as a teenager, John Beattie felt drawn to the ocean, but it was twenty-five years before his dreams of sailing the globe in his 35-foot yacht Warrior Queen could begin to come true. His voyage began in England and continued to the South American coast and into the depths of the rain forests via uncharted tributaries. The adventure reached a stirring climax during his return voyage from Venezuela. One day at dawn, hundreds of miles from land, he spotted a man dying of thirst aboard a drifting open boat, a man given one last slender chance to live.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781493059546
Publisher:	Sheridan House, Incorporated
Publication date:	03/01/2021
Series:	Sheridan House Maritime Classics
Pages:	272
Sales rank:	1,082,015
Product dimensions:	5.90(w) x 8.90(h) x 0.80(d)

About the Author

John Beattie is a writer and sailing enthusiast. He lives in England.

Table of Contents

Acknowledgments 9

Part 1 Home Waters

1 Going Back 15

2 Brown Sauce and Dreams 18

3 A Night in the Graveyard 25

4 Slow Progress 32

5 Freshwater and Mountains 39

6 Serious Talking 45

7 Roy and Walko 49

8 An Englishman, a Scotsman and an Irishman 58

9 A Troubled Land 64

10 Escape 69

11 Nuts and Bolts and Death 77

12 Haute Cuisine and Fish and Chips 82

Part 2 Ocean Waters

13 Bay of Biscay 89

14 Brown Sludge 97

15 Comets in the Sea 104

16 Running Repairs 109

17 Plan Overboard 115

18 Falling Apart 122

19 New Friends 133

20 Christmas and New Year 143

21 The Wide Blue Yonder 149

22 A Desert in the Sky 156

23 Rapture of the Deep 162

24 Sailing Towards Venus 170

Part 3 Tropical Waters

25 Boatboys and Lost Sailors 183

26 New Crew 190

27 Carnival 197

28 Winning and Losing 203

29 The Serpent's Mouth 209

30 The Edge of the World 215

31 Poverty and Wealth 223

32 Growing Up Strong 229

33 A City Without a Pump 233

34 Martin Simon 240

35 Antigua 251

36 Arrival and Departure 260

Editorial Reviews

Beattie's humor is delightful and he's a good storyteller. His love, longing, anger, and frustration are described with candor that is eloquent....His descriptions of the people who befriend him and the land and seascape are vivid....This is a book that will be enjoyed by armchair travelers who have never been aboard a boat and have no desire to do so. For those of us with a passion for boats and travel it's a book to savor. Buy several copies, you'll want to share it with all your friends.

Coastal Cruising

The Breath Of Angels is an action-packed tale of the sea and a story of love and longing. Even as a teenager, John Beattie felt drawn to the ocean, but it was 25 years befor e his dream of circumnavigating the globe in his 35-foot yacht, Warrior Queen, could beg in to come true. After sailing from Ireland to the Canary Islands, and facing difficulties with weather, crew, and ship, John was forced to abandon his goal of circumnavigation. However, he also decided he was ready to tackle the daunting transatlantic passage alone. Along the way, he discovered what he had been searching for: the rapture of the ocean. His voyage continued along the South American coast and into the depths of the rain forests via uncharted tributaries. The adventure reached a stirring climax during his return voyage from Venezuela. One day at dawn, hundreds of miles from land, he spotted a man dying of thirst aboard a drifting open boat, a man given one last slender chance to live. The Breath Of Angels is a riveting, powerful, more-dramatic-than-fiction, true biographical story of life and death upon the open sea.

Midwest Book Review