Crossing the Wild Pacific

"Crossing the Wild Pacific" with color photos is the fascinating true story of Randy and Rebecca Tisch's voyage from Florida to New Zealand aboard their yacht Argo. It is intended to appeal to both boaters and non-boaters alike. The story unfolds as a beautifully written narrative replete with colorful photos and illustrations, making the reader feel that they are on a virtual tour of the world via a private yacht. Captain Tisch relives the excitement and thrill of undertaking such a grand adventure; first by describing the preparations for getting underway, and then by making his planning strategies come to life as they met the challenge of the ocean and experience the thrill of coming into new and exotic ports of call.

This book in a sense is a travel log as seen through the eyes of a ship's captain, relating both the cultural and historic aspects of each country visited, but also allowing the reader to appreciate the boat handling aspects of cruising in exotic, far off lands. Tisch describes the anxiety attendant to entering an atoll thru its gauntlet of reefs, tides, and currents. He also recounts, in electrifying detail, battling a ferocious storm just off the coast of New Zealand, describing both the terrifying and surprising moments of that 13-hour ordeal. In other chapters, he describes the ocean sea state and the motor yacht's performance during the 18-day open ocean passage from The Galapagos to the Marquesan Islands.

Captain Tisch provides the reader with interesting and vivid descriptions of the flora and fauna, geology and history, and most importantly, the people who live out their lives in these beautiful places. The stories are as diverse as reef diving in Fiji, tortoises mating in the Galapagos, and swimming with whales in Vava'u. The voyage begins in Stuart, Florida, and proceeds across the Gulf Stream to The Bahamas, south through the Windward Passage to Port Antonio, Jamaica, across the Caribbean Sea to Santa Marta (as well as Cartenga and Bogotá), Columbia, through the Panama Canal to The Galapagos, across 3,100 miles of open ocean to The Marquesas Islands (Nuka Hiva, Ua Pu, Hiva Oa, Fatu Hiva, and Tahuata), south to Aha, Tikehau, and Rangiroa in the Tuamotus, on to the Society Islands of Tahiti, Morea, Huahine, and Bora Bora, then west to Samoa; and south to Tonga and New Zealand. Finally, Argo heads back to the USA via Fiji and the Hawaiian Islands after Randy is diagnosed with a serious cancer.

The book is beautifully written, exciting, and fun to read.