Seasoned by Salt
A Voyage in Search of the Caribbean
By Jerry L. Mashaw & Anne U. MacClintock
Illustrated by Anne U. MacClintock
NauticalReads.com, June 2008:
“Who among us has not dreamed about an idyllic life, sailing in paradise, sun, snorkeling, azure blue waters, and tropical refreshments in hand? After sailing for years including frequent charters in the Caribbean, Jerry Mashew and Anne MacClintock set sail from Connecticut to Grenada on a 10-month adventure.
Chronicling a sabbatical cruise is not new; Joshua Slocum first published his story more than 100 years ago. Before that there was Homer’s Odyssey. What sets the authors’ story apart? Why take the time to read it?
For those contemplating a similar voyage, Seasoned by Salt presents a realistic portrayal of life at sea and anchor. Cruising is more than gorgeous sunsets viewed from a cockpit with an 'umbrella drink' in hand. It is also about the people and cultures visited, broken boats, seasick crew, and unsettled weather. Other works often gloss over these unpleasantries. Anne and Jerry do not hide the raw truth about cruising on a small sailboat. It can be tough unpleasant work.
As their story unfolds, Anne and Jerry bring forth their experiences and place them in an historical context. Beyond the crescent beaches, swaying palm tree, and mangroves there is an unsettling history. As Mashew presents this history we get to understand and know him, his beliefs, and biases.
From time to time, Mashew’s wife MacClintlock provides a counterpoint to his narrative. While Jerry’s approach is often academic (he is a Yale Law Professor), Anne approaches the cruise from an artist’s perspective, focusing on the emotional experience of cruising. Together a more complete picture of the lifestyle unfolds.
Will Seasoned by Salt convince you to go cruising? No, but reading it is time well spent if you are curious or contemplating a similar adventure.”
Midwest Book Review, February 2008:
"Jerry L. Mahsaw and Anne U. MacClintock’s Seasoned by Salt: A Voyage in Search of the Caribbean follows one couple’s cruise from Connecticut through the Caribbean and back, telling how they took leave of jobs and a ‘real’ life in Connecticut to sail for the tropics. Any landlubber or would-be sailor who loves boats and nautical true-life adventure will relish this story of sailing, with its high drama and fast action."
Latitudes & Attitudes, March 2006:
"This is a very well told account of one couple's year-long cruise from Connecticut through the Caribbean and back. Their adventures cover the highs and lows of what cruising is really like, combined with a lot of history on the areas they visit. Very entertaining."
The Ensign, September/October 2005:
“Many of us dream of casting off on a year-long Caribbean cruise. We see ourselves sailing under a full moon, enjoying exotic lands with interesting people and having the adventure of a lifetime. However, our boat remains docked as the dream slowly sinks below a sea of daily responsibilities.
“The authors of Seasoned by Salt have lived our fantasy. They took a leave of absence from “real” life in Connecticut and set sail for the tropics. Along the way, they sailed angry seas near Bermuda before reaching the British Virgin Islands and heading south to Grenada. They each recount their fears and adventures from a different perspective, which makes for compelling reading.
“Other books have captured the magic of sailing away, but these authors also delve into the history and economy of the islands. If you're ready to escape in a sailboat, consider this book your launching point.”
Blue Water Sailing, February 2004:
“A staple of cruising books is the sabbatical cruise: the author takes off for a year and goes somewhere. While the stories vary in quality, they are genre books, so when we read Seasoned by Salt, by Jerry L. Mashaw and Anne U. MacClintock, we were delighted to discover that it is, besides a cruising tale, a love story.
“The authors, married to each other and delighted with that state of affairs, had always taken refuge in their sailboat, discovering in its intimate confines a harbor for their love, an escape from their careers (he a Yale Law School professor, she a corporate lawyer). When he took his sabbatical (and one hopes that Seasoned by Salt will pass muster as a sabbatical publication), it was, for both of them, as much an exercise in confirming their relationship as it was the maturation of their sailing skills. That they didn't realize how wonderfully adept their love for each other was to prove to be aboard their boat is part of the book's attraction.
“Chapters alternate authorship, with very different viewpoints and each a delight. Mashaw has done his homework, and his narrative is enlivened by historic connections and sociological observations. MacClintock's perspective is closer to the scene, personal and observed with a keen, honest eye.
“A good sailing book should have as its star the people, not the voyage or the boat, and Seasoned by Salt is just such a story. While we do learn the difficulty with which a tenured professor of law at Yale University takes up diesel mechanics, don't read it for that. Read it for the story of a couple, deeply in love, who explore their relationship while cruising the Caribbean.”
Yachting, February 2004:
“In Seasoned by Salt: A Voyage in Search of the Caribbean, husband and wife Jerry L. Mashaw and Anne U. MacClintock chronicle the highs and lows of sailing from their home in Connecticut to Grenada and back.
“Mashaw and MacClintock make the voyage aboard their sailboat, PALAEMON, a 38-footer whose living space is smaller than the master bathroom in the couple's house. Though they dreamed for years about the journey, the authors are frank about the apprehension they felt as the departed. PALAEMON doesn't feel like home – MacClintock stumbles over steps; Mashaw is tormented by the boat's undiagnosed creaking. Soon, however, they settle in and adapt to the rhythm of life at sea – adventure, boredom, and all.
–Mashaw's writing opens each chapter, and MacClintock chimes in later with passage notes and skilled illustrations. Written from the first-person perspective in the couple's evenhanded, lyrical style, the book deftly eschews the treacly scribble of self-discovery some might expect. Mashaw writes that the trip's important lesson is not one of courage or fear; it is that his deepest delight – his partnership with MacClintock – remains impassioned and solid. ‘My joy goes ashore with me,’ he writes. That joy is sure to follow you, too.”
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