Mailbag
Just finished Leg Two and was captivated from the first page of Leg One. One moment I'm in tears in one chapter and the next laughing out loud. Hard to put down and a great saga of adventure on the high seas! Skip & Denise, you are two of my favourite people in the world, thank you for sharing your adventure. Great read! And I've never been on a sailboat but your story is captivating.
— Lisa Brisco- Vancouver Island
On holiday at the Aegean Sea with a good read:)
— Aegean Sea
My wife Debbie and I met you at the Vancouver BC boat show this January and purchased your book from you for my Father-in-Law. He enjoyed reading it so much that he brought it back for us to read. I'm sitting out on our boat having just completed reading your book. We have travelled to Tahiti, Bora Bora, Moorea, Rangaroa, Nuka Hiva and quite a few places in Australia although we did it in jet airplanes and cruise ships. We all very much enjoyed your book and would love to know when the next one will be out.
Regards, Ken and Deb Ouellette
— Vancouver Boat Show
Just finished Leg One and thoroughly enjoyed it. Can't wait to read about my good mate Roo in Leg Two. You have done an amazing job capturing the adventure and personalities. Now I have a better picture if who you are and want to read more. Your honesty in story telling is a credit to you.
Nick
From Aus
— Reader comments- Nick Lee from Aus
They left the package outside the storm door and our 10 month old Poodle read it! I am going to scotch tape it and see if I have all the pages. So much for my signed copy! :-)
— Howard McMichael, McMichael Yacht Brokers
Hey Skip, Hope all is well in your world. Just finished a nice read that I really enjoyed, more than any other in years (Leg 1). The respectful moments of freedom and quiet on the greatest road our planet has to offer still call to me. Passion and dreams are so important. Just wanted to say hi and appreciate this part of your adventure and the time you spent to enable others in sharing it Cheers to you and Best Regards.
— James, Peachland, B.C
Hi Skip and Denise, It was a pleasure meeting the two of you at the boat show and purchasing both of your books. I had to let you know... just read the preface and I’m already hooked! Lon and I will be fighting over who reads it first!— Cathy and Lon Hayne
Skip, There are very few people on this planet that I've ever had adventures like you have had. How many people can say they had to deal with pirates ha!! ok I can't even imagine how difficult it was for you to deal with.
— Jeffrey Herold, President, West Coast Trends, Inc.
Skip, My wife Stacey said, have you read Skip's book yet? So, in the last couple of days I have done nothing except to sit by the fire with a glass of wine and read your book. I couldn't set it down, kept me wanting more and more. You my dear friend are an exceptional writer!!!
— Cowboy DK
My first question is how is Denise? What a great book even if there is no Hobart to Sydney race? Carolyn and I have lived a very dull life when compared to you and Denise. I never would have dreamed that the kid that stole the full Schaefer Beer truck would go to sea!
— Howie McMichael (old high school friend)
Skip, It was a true pleasure to meet you and Denise. We had a wonderful evening. I look forward to finishing Volume 1 and continuing the adventure in Volume 2 this fall. It's a big 'ol world with lots to explore especially on a boat. We've dipped our toes in the ocean with a short cruise through the San Juan and Gulf Islands, but we've aspirations to do some larger, longer journeys. Your words will add fuel to the fire.— Mike Lozar
Skip... accept that you deserve the award and it will come searching for you. I believe you deserve an award for:
- Creativity
- Superb writing
- A true adventure as worthy as Captain Cooks
- Bringing romance, tender moments and climax to the high seas
- A sense of humor in the midst of pending disaster
- Showing the value of living your purpose
- Respecting Nature, its force, and our Spiritual relationship to IT.
— Blenda Pilon
Hello, My wife Debbie and I met you at the Vancouver BC boat show this January and purchased your book from you for my Father-in-Law. He enjoyed reading it so much that he brought it back for us to read. I'm sitting out on our boat having just completed reading your book. We have travelled to Tahiti, Bora Bora, Moorea, Rangaroa, Nuka Hiva and quite a few places in Australia although we did it in jet airplanes and cruise ships. We all very much enjoyed your book and would love to know when the next one will be out.
— Ken and Deb Ouellette
Hi Skip! I found the story of your epic sailing odyssey fascinating and inspiring. If you recall I purchased both after your boat show presentation. In fact, I’m about half way through the first one now and loving it!! I hope you and Denise are well.
— Chris Stanley, Director, Amber Pacific Studios Ltd.
Rowland's epic books tell the tale of an ordinary salesman who "chucked it all," to sail to the South Seas while he was old enough to afford it, but young enough to enjoy it. From the moment his custom-made sailboat was stolen and put to the torch by thieves - who were subsequently captured in Mexico at the point of Rowland's gun - to fighting off pirates in hand-to-hand combat, Rowland offers a fast-paced behind-the-sails peek at what happens when the romance of the seas meets the reality of the journey.
"No Return Ticket" artfully balances the many dimensions of a complex sea voyage - harnessing a crew, dealing with bureaucracies and natives, maintaining the vessel, and all the various weather, navigation, health and financial worries - while letting us share in the joy of membership in the seagoing fraternity. Rowland makes the journey at once vast and intimate, relaxing and terrifying, so both the layperson and the old salt can feel both the excitement and the joy.
"No Return Ticket" is an inspiring reminder of why we step away from shore.
— Jeffrey Josephson, New Jersey