Review of Seeker: A Sea Odyssey
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Review of Seeker: A Sea Odyssey
The bittersweet love story of Rita and Bernard, their mutual love for their yacht, and their voyage on sea trace back to Mexico. There, they both resurfaced their mutual dream of having a voyager life on the sea. They joined hands to actualize this dream, but the xenophobia that ensued after the violent crackdown at the Plaza of the Three Cultures in Mexico caused them to move to Canada to plan and save for this venture.
After their seven-year stay saving for their voyage in Canada, they departed for Taiwan, the site of production for Santa Rita, the resilient fiber-glass yacht that would serve them for six years. After more than a year of modeling and construction, the Santa Rita made her maiden voyage, taking a course to serene and treacherous waters alike. She traversed hundreds of miles and docked at 40 ports in approximately 19 countries and regions spanning Asia, Africa, and Europe.
On the course of this voyage, the passengers onboard the Santa Rita interacted with people from different backgrounds, be it from their nationality, ethnicity, or religion; participated in activities that are inherent components of each country's cultural heritage; and sightsaw idyllic natural scenes and manmade historic sites.
But as perfect as the voyage seemed, man-induced and nature-induced activities threatened to keel over their yacht and their lives. The mysterious capricious behavior of Bernard at sea wedged a chasm between them, which proved to be larger and less reconcilable along their voyage, making the voyage drift further away from the ivory tower all of them onboard had envisaged.
The author takes us on a journey of highs and lows in this memoir. From moments of bloodcurdling despair to moments of sybaritic ecstasy, she acquaints us with her adventures on sea and land. The author's life looks like something out of a fairy tale, only with more realistic characters, tinged with a contemporary ambiance, and laden with impactful and relatable lessons from people's lives. Her life will inspire you to venture into the world and be the best you can be.
The voyage was both an empowering and debilitating experience for the author. I found it saddening that while the voyage brought some people closer and consolidated their bond, it caused fissures in the relationship of others onboard. The emotional rollercoaster that the author went through during the voyage is like no other I have ever seen. But if anyone could make the best out of such a life at sea amidst all the troubles cropping up, Rita showed that she was up to the task.
If there was one constant wholeheartedly to my liking about the author, it would be her open-mindedness in embracing the cultural heritage of most of the places she visits. Her inquisitive approach to her immediate environment gave her a broad understanding of it; consequently, it made for a more interesting reading experience.
In this memoir, the author narrated the stories of people—some of whom she met and some of whom she heard about—and how their dreams of sailing were dashed because of one problem or the other. Her intrepidness to proceed with the voyage, despite such portentous tales, endeared me further to this memoir. This memoir was more than a casual book for me; it was also a learning experience for me in many fields. The nitty-gritty of yachting, culture and cuisine, and the intricacy of human relationships are just some of the themes underscored in this book.
I was initially disappointed that the author didn't attach the photos of her journey, and even though she later did, they were not as expressive of the voyage and as organized as I would have liked. They looked more like an afterthought than anything. A picture is worth a thousand words; using pictures aptly would have made for a more immersive read. However, I won't deduct any stars for this issue, as my likes for this book far outweigh it.
This book is exceptionally well-edited, as I found no notable spelling or grammatical errors in it. I would rate Seeker: A Sea Odyssey by Rita Pomade 5 out of 5 stars for all the aforementioned reasons. I would recommend this book to people who have a keen interest in travel and adventure. Generic readers in search of a great read will also be inspired by this memoir.
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Seeker: A Sea Odyssey
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