Book Review: Somewhere South Sailing Through Polynesia 1977

11 Feb Book Review: Somewhere South Sailing Through Polynesia 1977

Hot off the press is a newly published sea story written by none other than our crewman Clay Hutchinson. Check it out on Amazon!

“Somewhere South Sailing Through Polynesia 1977” is the story of his first ocean passage in 1977. After graduating from college and completing 5 years of active duty as a Naval Officer, Clay prepared his boat and launched into a longtime dream.

Clay, John, Ah-Ki, Marc

The story follows 20-something Clay along with his cousin John and another friend Marc.  They depart Hawaii as novice sailors aboard a classic wooden sailboat, “Lille Dansker”, with the goal of ending up somewhere in Polynesia. The book follows these optimistic young men as they master sailing and enjoy a peaceful and pleasant passage. They make landfall in Bora Bora, where the curious, open-minded young crew begins to explore the wonders of Polynesia. For us sailors who get excited seeing a beautiful classic sailboat, this is a boat we would dream about sailing, and if we could, we would go back in time and do exactly what Clay did. Highly recommended!

Sharry and I first met Clay at the Kaneohe Yacht Club in 2015. We learned about some of Clay’s Pacific crossings, including taking his kids ages 7 and 10 thru the South Pacific with his wife Gail in 1994.  Clay spent his working life as an executive in the marine construction industry and completed 27 years of service in the Navy Reserve as a Diving and Salvage Officer, retiring as a Captain. He managed projects on many remote Pacific locations.

Clay working and Sam reading Clay’s book

We invited Clay to join us on our Hawaii to Dutch Harbor, Unalaska Island passage in 2018. He was such a pleasant addition to the crew that we invited him back in 2019 from Seattle to Hawaii. We are thrilled he can join us again for this passage to Guam. His book is an inspiration for all of you dreaming of distant landfalls and an excellent reminder of the magic of cruising for veteran sailors.

Buy it at your favorite bookseller or on Amazon!