It Ain't Over Yet!

Crossing the North Atlantic Ocean in a small sailboat is no longer a news-grabbing event. Recent advances in navigation and communication equipment, unavailable a few short years ago, have greatly improved sailors' chances of survival and success. Nevertheless, the waters of the North Atlantic Ocean still present many different moods and difficult-often extreme-challenges.

In 1996 three Lake Ontario sailors from Toronto-Henk Borsboom, Peter Becker and the author, Dick Grannan-decided to accept the challenges of the North Atlantic Ocean on RABASKA (big canoe), a thirty-seven foot Alberg sailboat. The adventure had a huge impact on their lives, and their memories tell fascinating stories of what they experienced on that trip.

Many sailors who write about cruising have a chapter about The Storm. Crossing the North Atlantic Ocean in 1996 was not about just one major storm, but a series of them that nearly defeated their spirit and courage. The sailors faced relentless challenges when they crossed the world's second-largest ocean in a small sailboat. Grannan tells how they worked together as a team, and how the trip enabled them to rearrange their priorities and to get more in touch with their everyday lives.