Bull Canyon: A Boatbuilder, a Writer and Other Wildlife - Hardcover

Lin Pardey

4.07

142 ratings by Goodreads

9781929214679: Bull Canyon: A Boatbuilder, a Writer and Other Wildlife

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 1929214677 ISBN 13: 9781929214679

Publisher: Paradise Cay Publications, 2011

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Finalist, 2012 WILLA Literary Awards, Creative non-fiction Finalist 2012 IPBA Next Generation Literary Awards, Non-Fiction Finalist 2012 IPBA Next Generation Literary Award - Memoir Lin Pardey and her husband Larry are internationally famous for their sailing adventures. But in 1980 -- fresh from an eleven years-long sailing journey, where they forged the early years of their marriage on high seas and in exotic locales -- they came to California looking for a good spot to build a boat, test Lin s skills as a writer and taste the apparent security life ashore could offer. Nestled in a rocky outcropping of winding, sparsely populated dirt roads, 60 miles from the sea and 50 miles from Los Angeles, Bull Canyon would seem an unlikely place for boat-building. But when Lin and Larry set eyes on the abandoned stone cottage at the top of a rutted, dusty lane, it was love at first sight. The house was certainly a fixer-upper, but there was plenty of room to build a boat, not to mention peace, quiet, and an abundance of natural beauty. They knew they'd come home. Bull Canyon would bring them joy, victories and failures but also packrats in the pantries, flooding rains that would make Noah himself cower, the occasional cougar, and an oddball collection of neighbors as ready to assist these hapless appearing newcomers as they were to gossip or occasionally cause trouble. It would be a life lived close to the land, coaxing vegetables out of acrid soil, living side-by-side with wildlife of all types, navigating dangerous roads to simply get to the nearest grocery store, no piped in water, no electricity, no phones not even a proper address to receive mail. Their marriage would be tested, too, working side-by-side, 24/7. Life in the canyon would prove daunting, gritty, and dangerous, and a tougher bargain in the end than what they'd signed up for. But as tough as life could be there, Bull Canyon was, indeed, the place where dreams could come true. It was here that Lin and Larry tapped into the affirming core of their marriage, accomplished back-breaking physical feats (moving enormous boulders and pouring tons of hot lead, among others), and grew to love the magical yet difficult environment. In the tradition of Under the Tuscan Sun and A Year in Provence, Pardey takes readers on a voyage landlocked, but a voyage nonetheless of the heart, sharing candidly and with great humor the four years she and her determined husband spent in Bull Canyon. From the Thanksgiving when they had to hang the turkey from a ceiling hook to keep it safe from invading animals, to their constant companion, Dog (who is actually a cat), to Lin's run-in with a couple of drunk hunters, to Larry's careful coaxing of rough-sawn timber into the beautiful boat, Taleisin, their story, related in the warm, personal voice of the fireside storyteller, is a funny, tender, and engrossing tale. Bull Canyon is the story of two dreamers and schemers who have taken life by the horns and bring the reader along for the wild and joyous ride.

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About the Author:

Lin Pardey is internationally famous for her sailing and boatbuilding expertise. With her husband, Larry, she has sailed more than 200,000 miles and has won many awards. She is the author of eleven books and has created several instructional videos on sailing. The Pardeys make New Zealand their home base, cruising on board Taleisin part of each year.

Review:

In 1980, after eleven years of sailing around the world, Lin Pardey and her boatbuilder husband, Larry, needed time-out from the life aquatic. The couple settled in Bull Canyon, California, a rural locale that featured open spaces and wildlife galore but no electricity or phone service. For four years, Larry and Lin stayed in one place. Lin Pardey's memoir of that time offers a straightforward, bittersweet account of two seafaring soul mates adjusting to life on land. The reasons for choosing the barely- there community, located sixty miles southeast of Los Angeles, are basic. Thanks to their landlord friends, the Pardeys pay no rent for their stone cabin. There is ample space for Larry to build a boat that when completed would take the couple on another nautical sojourn. Lin, meanwhile, can focus on her blossoming writing career, which includes working on a book and regular articles for sailing magazines. Though Bull Canyon isn't as exotic as the couple's books about sailing on their beloved cutter Seraffyn, land life provides its own set of challenges. Lin and Larry have to adjust to a world surrounded by others nosy neighbors, wave upon wave of rodents, and impromptu visits from fans, friends, and family. This is not ideal for two people whose work relies on uninterrupted concentration. As Larry's boat nears completion and the Pardeys' stint as landlubbers winds down, Bull Canyon's bucolic quaintness evaporates. The state builds a freeway nearby, which gets real estate developers interested. In between writing assignments and errands, Lin spurs a movement for her rustic neighborhood to finally get electricity and phone service. Jealousy and bitterness increase among the residents. The one challenge the Pardeys can't meet is the unanticipated ravages of time. The primitive yet peaceful marvels and special intimacy that Lin once adored become inconveniences. After the utilities arrived,this intimacy, along with the camaraderie of the canyon folks seemed to disappear she writes.. . . I realized many of the original charms of canyon life were now just a nuisance. Through out this unusual but appealing story Lin remains a forthright and authentic narrator. And she learned an invaluable lesson: In taking their own rugged approach at domesticity, Larry and Lin Pardey discovered that the sea was where they always belonged. - --Midwest Book Reviews

Soon after meeting, Lin and Larry Pardey , two free and kindred spirits, set sail in Seraffyn from California,ultimately spending 11 years traversing the globe, writing articles about sailing to supplement their income. Back in southern California, their lives took a dramatic turn when they decided to take root in dry, brush-filled Bull Canyon, in a region prone to wild fires, and build a new boat--out of very flammable wood. With a cat named Dog to help manage their rat problem and a dog named Cindy running security, the Pardeys spent three years building the 29-foot sailboat, Taleisin, selling off Seraffyn, which had taken them around the world, to buy time. But Lin immediately felt cheated; was $40,000 enough to compensate for the freedom I'd given up? This idea of freedom vs. security is like fuel for Bull Canyon; it practically runs on it. Their first two years in the canyon Lin spent countless hours getting phone lines installed a crucial stepping stone toward electricity, which she achieved in their third summer (it too brought some regret). Their accomplishment is significant, highly Romantic, and admirable. With many homespun snapshots included, readers may feel as if they're following the fantastic adventures of an old friend. --Publishers Weekly

There s something for almost everybody in the memoir Bull Canyon by Lin Pardey, who is very popular among readers of a nautical bent. Pardey and her spouse, Larry, lived on a boat for 11 years, sailing the world, but decided to live on land for a couple of years while they built a larger and better boat. They rented an almost-inaccessible stone cottage in Bull Canyon, 60 miles southeast of Los Angeles. The house had been abandoned for eight years, except by rats and bees. So first, they had to make the place livable. Pardy writes about everyday life at home; hard times battling rattlesnakes, frogs, thieves, allergies, rain, wind, threats of fire and a lack of electricity; and thoughtful topics such as Lin and Larry s relationship, wondering whether to have children, and even whether to adopt a pet. The book reminded me of Under the Tuscan Sun as Lin and Larry mingled with the people nearby and as they struggled to fix up the old place, which had a personality of its own. This is a kind of reflective domestic adventure. It is also the story of a woman who discovers she can make a living as a writer and a good writer, at that. Her phrasing is just smooth and easy to read: I settled under the limbs of the diadora pine and swept my eyes around the homestead we d repaired and built up together. As I sat there, I began to marvel at the flexible and strong partnership we d formed, one that had been built piece by piece, then shaped slowly and carefully. In the end, she and Larry went back to the sea aboard their new boat: I d come to the canyon thinking I d wanted ... a home, a sense of belonging after years of being a foreigner. But I d left knowing I am and always will be a foreigner wherever I live, for I am addicted to change. The challenge of new projects, the quest for new beginnings, is as necessary to me as food, as sleep. It is a warm and wonderful book. --The Record-Courier, Mary Louise Ruehr

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