At the peak of their careers, Anne Brevig and Martin Vennesland made the decision of their lives: they chose freedom and a highly uncertain future on the high seas instead of secure jobs and the safety and comfort of life ashore. In order to finance their dream, they sold their house and most of their belongings and moved onboard their 40-foot sailboat, "Nor Siglar". She became their one and only home for 15 years. Neither imagined that they were going to spend 9 years on the 7 seas and sail more than 56,000 nautical miles around the world, visiting 76 countries and island nations! Anne and Martin's bluewater adventure was not about breaking any records. Its main focus was meeting people from different backgrounds and cultures - encounters that take on entirely different dimensions when sailing off the beaten track far away from the traditional tourist routes. Their 9-years on the 7 Seas circumnavigation onboard "Nor Siglar", which is truly a once-in-a-lifetime adventure packed with drama and excitement, has been documented in books and magazine articles and is now available in the "Seven Seas Adventures Series". In the first book of the Series, the career couple describe the planning, the panic and the last minute preparations before cutting the ties with jobs, home, friends and family and setting out to fulfill their dreams. They share their very first ocean passage, the exhilaration of making land fall, the many chores and routines onboard a small sailboat at sea, how they deal with seasickness, lonely night watches and nature's unforgiving elements so close by. The book is also about guns and patrol boats, "bandidos" and "friendly inspections", a close call with a freighter, chilling distress calls, rough weather, accidental jibes and injured crew, helpful natives, rickety docks and squalls in the night, enchanting encounters and trading with natives in remote villages deep in the Panamanian jungle. "Why are you rushing through Paradise?" squatters on a paradisiacal island asked, a question which became a motto for Anne and Martin during the rest of their voyage. Slowing down to smell the roses, they were able to establish personal contact with locals and gain experiences they would otherwise never have had. The books in the Seven Seas Adventures Series are not just any old travelogues for adventurers. Rather, it is a collection of highlights from encounters with "ordinary" people from different cultures and backgrounds who live a life much different from what most of us are used to. Anne and Martin certainly learned that what we take for granted is an elusive dream for others. The books "answer" a multitude of questions posed by travellers in general as well as prospective offshore sailors. Read how they had survived serious dangers, break-ins and a dramatic grounding, escaped close encounters with pirates, witnessed life-saving bravery and enjoyed heart-warming personal meetings on all five continents.
About the Author: Anne grew up in Halden, Norway as a country girl on a farm. She always dreamt of seeing the world and began her adventures with life as an au pair, studying languages in Switzerland, Germany and the USA. In New York, she embarked on a career in international shipping and later became comptroller of a large Norwegian shipping company's Vancouver offices. When Anne met Martin at the age of 38, she was completely new to sailboats. Having grown up inland, she didn't learn to swim until she was 16, was afraid of the water and became seasick easily. Anne never thought in her wildest imagination that one day she would exchange her comfortable life ashore with the often extreme challenges of life at sea - a decision she has never regretted! Martin was born with salt water in his blood. He grew up by the tang of the sea in the small village of Sagesund on the south coast of Norway and has sailed all his life. The dream of travelling to exotic and distant shores on his own keel took shape at an early age. As a young man he emigrated to Canada to become a professional forester. When taking early retirement to venture offshore, Martin was head of one of Canada's largest forestry consultingfirms. An avid outdoors person, he is happiest in the mountains, at his woodlot tending his cedars and Douglas firs or sailing on the high seas.