Kirjahaku

Around the world sailor, Kaci Cronkhite knew better than to buy a wooden boat. But, smitten by the curves of a rare Danish spidsgatter named Pax-she did. Days after the boat's arrival from Vancouver Island, Canada, to Port Townsend, Washington, startling questions emerged with no answers. Where was proof of the boat's WWII-era origin and history in Denmark? Had she, as rumors suggested, caught fire and been stolen boat in 1980s Sausalito? How, where, and when had she left Europe to sail in America? Determined to find answers, solve the mystery, and restore Pax's history, Kaci embarked on an unexpected journey spanning seven years and comprising three countries, thousands of miles, ten families, and a 2,000 year old tree-the oldest living oak in northern Europe.This is a memoir like no other; a quest and love story about a woman and a boat, written in prose that is poetic, spare and full of wisdom. A brave, inspiring story about preserving legacy and following questions wherever they may lead. Shortlisted in 2018 for the UK's prestigious MountBatten Best Book Award.

‘The boat appeared when I didn’t expect or, frankly, need her. My bucket list was empty. Life was full…But sailing towards me was a boat that would stir the waters, waking decades of loss, revealing history untold, and restoring a legacy that was lost in the wind. For her and for me, I had to wade into that water. I had to go, to search, to find.’ This is a love story – about a woman and a boat. Having fallen hopelessly in love with a 1930s Danish spidsgatter, a beautifully constructed 25 ft wooden double-ender, Kaci embarks on an international search to unravel the mystery of the boat’s past, and discovers the many lives Pax touched since she first hit the water in 1936. Kaci Cronkhite’s seven year search for Pax’s history is an elegant little gem, taking the reader aboard not only for sublime, wind-filled sails but also to eavesdrop the conversations and relationships that are built as she learns more about Pax’s past, whilst hugely enjoying her present. Finding Pax is a story of discovery and reconnection like no other. The writing is poetic, spare, and full of wisdom: ‘In sailing, in weather, in life and death, answers are not endings and questions are not to be feared. The unknowns keep us moving forward.’ Kaci originally published the story of her and Pax in a limited number of bespoke editions, but they proved so popular, reaching readers she never expected to reach, and provoking unexpected questions from those who wanted to find out more, that she revised and expanded the book for this new international edition.