Dark Wind: A Survivor's Tale of Love and Loss

After reading some of these reviews I wonder if the people writing them actually read the book or maybe they never experienced a lost love. It is clear the author has written a very gripping account of paradise found and lost. I give him credit for seeking it out and finding it which is something most people never do. I have just started sailing and this book has reminded me just how powerful and deadly a force nature can be, regardless of preparation and skill. It is a risk all people who venture out to sea take and it is no different than driving a car. It is a good thing if this book causes people to err on the side of caution.

I've read this book twice in the last two weeks, A very moving story of two people looking for adventure. After both previous marriges fall apart they set upon a journy that ultimately takes the life of one and leaves the other searching his soul for forgiveness. Some how it has left me feeling evey emotion that I think Mr Chaplin had wanted to achieve with the writing of this book. A great book! A real joy reading. I just wish it were possible to tell Mr. Chaplin himself.

If you want modern sailing, adventures, dilemmas, botched revenges, lies, exotic settings, anxious families back home and eventual disaster in one of the most beautiful and unspoiled places in the world, this is your book. Dark wind tells an average tale about contemporary sailors: middle-aged couple, bouncing out of failed marriages, decides to have the big trip before it's too late: Belize, Panama, back to the US by plane, when the family needs attention, and beyond. Twilights, sunsets, the weird floating society of a port full of foreigners and their boats. Lonesome beaches, mechanical mishaps, the purchase of an EPIRB system: no classic sailing story, here, in the manner of Patrick O'Brien, but autopilots, engines and tourism. People who argue, face hard times and may look selfish. No multi-talented sailor-hero around the world on sight, either. This book is a memoir, a real story about people who suffered while chasing their dreams, and it rings true, even if it's not, which is rather out of the point as far as I'm concerned. It also provides a charming route to follow in the future, autopilot and all. And it taught me something else: if the hurricane comes close, don't ever do what they did.

This was a GREAT READ! If you liked "Albatross" you will love this book. I read it in 9 hours, I could NOT PUT IT DOWN! Don't listen to those other reviewers, perhaps they have yet to find their soulmate. The author tells his true story that combines such strong, truthful emotion, love, and the powerful, mysterious ocean. Gordon's love for Susan, is so painfully apparent through his descriptions of her and how eloquently he writes about his most heart wrenching memories of that fateful voyage in the Marshall Islands. This is a beautifully written, true story about fate, how sometimes a plan is never clear, no matter what preparations you make or how carefully you try to outsmart fate, you are still human. Most importantly this book exudes one mans pure love for a woman whom he still grieves for, and when you read it you will understand why.

This was a go to work tired and finish "just another chapter" book. The pain was palpable. The adventure was true. The end was tragic.