Whether you're an experienced sailor or simply enjoy armchair cruising, Patricia A. McGehee's stories of life at sea will awaken your internal adventurer-and leave you yearning for the wind and waves.
Culled from McGehee's years of cruising and living aboard a thirty-six foot sailboat with her husband and son, Grains of Salt chronicles her experiences as a floating gypsy traveler.
Their adventures begin in Southern California when the McGehees pull up anchor and wave goodbye to marina life, embarking on a shakedown cruise along the Baja California peninsula, then down the coast of Mexico, El Salvador, and Costa Rica, before finally arriving in Panama. There, they explore the Darién jungle and pass through the Panama Canal before continuing to South Texas.
But Panama left its mark on McGehee and her husband, and they sailed back to the isthmus and made the Central American country their base for many years.
The vivid and realistic portrayal of both the romance and the challenges of life at sea will intrigue landlocked readers and inspire would-be adventurers to journey beyond their own comfort zones to find the unexpected treasures waiting just beyond the horizon.
About the Author: Patricia A. McGehee is a member of The Florida Writer's Association and the author of Portobelo Chronicles, a narrative history of Panama's historical Spanish treasure port.
McGehee and her husband, Dick, lived aboard their sailboat for nearly twenty years. They purchased property in Panama and formed a corporation dedicated to preserving the town's history. They met cruisers from around the world at their dock in Portobelo and presented informative talks about the history of the town.
During the thirty years she and Dick lived in Panama, McGehee interviewed cruisers transiting the Panama Canal and contributed her reports to Cruising World Magazine's Passage Notes column. She also wrote feature articles for Cruising World, The Bounty Boating News, The Sailor's Gazette, Canadian Yachting, Canoe, and Sailor Magazine.
Widowed after sixty years of marriage, McGehee now resides in Tampa, Florida.
