9 Years on the 7 Seas - Softcover

Anne E. Brevig

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0973758201 ISBN 13: 9780973758207

Publisher: 7 Seas Productions, 2005

Synopsis

A BESTSELLER in Norway and nearing this status in North America too, this beautifully illustrated book is an ideal read for anyone dreaming of an adventure on the high seas or simply loves to travel. It is truly a once-in-a-lifetime adventure packed with drama and excitement and unique and charming encounters with cultures from all corners of the globe. A must for armchair sailors and everyone who yearns for destinations of a different kind. At the peak of their careers, Norwegian-Canadian couple, Anne Brevig and Martin Vennesland sold most of their worldly belongings and moved onboard their sailboat, Nor Siglar in Vancouver. B.C. For six years, while working downtown, Martin as a consulting forester, Anne as a comptroller of an international shipping company, they lived in their 40-foot French sloop to save and prepare themselves and their yacht for an around the world voyage. Martin, who grew up on the south coast of Norway, had long dreamed of sailing back to the old country on his own keel one day. While he was practically born with salt water in his veins , Anne, on the other hand, was just a country girl . Having grown up on a farm inland near the Swedish border, she could barely swim until she was 16, had never set foot on a sailboat until she was 38 and got seasick easily. At 45 and 59 years of age, they quit their jobs and cut all ties, trading a secure and comfortable lifestyle ashore, for one of uncertainty and danger on the high seas. Nine years later, their offshore adventure ended in Norway, where Nor Siglar has become their floating summer home, while they once again have taken up residence in Vancouver. Nor Siglar, which means Northern Sailor in Old Norse, was not only the couple s faithful yacht, which brought them safely from port to port across the big oceans for nine years. She was their beloved floating home as well. In fact, she was their one and only home - for 15 years. So their adventure was not just a circumnavigation, but also a unique life style. During their 56,000 nautical mile voyage, which is approx. 2 ½ times around the world at equator, they visited 76 countries and island nations, met a multitude of interesting people from different backgrounds and cultures, and had many exciting and touching experiences, while also encountering dangerous and dramatic challenges. The couple survived both stormy and pirate infested waters, collision with a whale and getting caught in a huge fish net in the middle of the Indian Ocean. They experienced groundings and electrolysis, break-ins and a scary emergency stop in Algeria, not to mention Martin s back surgery in Morocco and Anne s never-ending battle with seasickness. But the good far outweighed the bad. Most memorable of all, was the close personal contact acquired by donating eyeglasses and first aid supplies to needy people in isolated places. The most unique incident was helping a Kuna Indian family transport a deceased relative on Nor Siglar deck from one island to another to his funeral; the most rewarding, adopting a poor Muslim family in Morocco. In short, theirs was a once-in-a-lifetime adventure full of highs and lows. By sharing their dream in this beautiful book, they hope to inspire others to follow their own dreams too, whatever they may be. The first edition, which was published in Norway, became a bestseller and is sold out. The English version is already into its second print and close to becoming a bestseller too. Deservedly, 9 Years on the 7 Seas has received glowing reviews, both from the media and the general public.

About this title

About the Author:

Anne E. Brevig (author) Born in Halden, Norway, Anne grew up as a country girl who always dreamt of seeing the world. She began her life adventures as an au pair, while at the same time, studying languages in Switzerland, Germany and USA. In New York, she embarked on a career in international shipping and later became comptroller of an international shipping company s Vancouver office. When she, at the age of 38, met her husband-to-be, Martin Vennesland, an avid sailor, she was completely new to boating. Having grown up on a farm inland, she didn t learn to swim until she was 16, was afraid of the water and became seasick easily. Therefore, she never thought in her wildest imagination that one day she would exchange her comfortable life ashore with that aboard a small sailboat and the often extreme challenges of life at sea. She proceeded to spend the next 15 years of her life with her husband living aboard the couple s 40-foot sloop, Nor Siglar, nine of which were offshore. While sailing the high seas, Anne found the time to nurture an old passion: to write. She started writing about their offshore odyssey and had, among other publications, over 45 articles published in Seilas , Norway s largest sailing magazine. This led to the publishing of her first book, 9 Years on the 7 Seas in Norwegian, which subsequently became a bestseller. Then followed her English version, which is already in its second print and well on its way to becoming a bestseller too. Today, Anne, and her husband, Martin, travel to the far corners of the world giving slide shows to cruise ships, yacht clubs, maritime museums and other venues. Anne is currently working on a sequel entitled Treasures, Trinkets and Trades - memories from a blue water adventure. Martin E. Vennesland(photographer) Martin was born with salt water in his veins. 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 traveling to exotic and distant shores on his own keel took shape at an early age. As a young man he immigrated to Canada to become a professional forester. When taking early retirement to venture offshore, Martin was head of one of Canada s largest forestry consulting firms. 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. While offshore, Martin developed a keen interest in photography. During their 9-year circumnavigation to 76 countries and island nations, he captured over 5000 beautiful shots, 300 of which grace their beautiful book.

Review:

Anne E. Brevig's new book, 9 Years on the 7 Seas (7 Seas Productions, Port Moody, Canada), is a testament to the magic and beauty of traveling around the world. Anne Brevig and Martin Vennesland spent nine years sailing to 76 different countries and logging over 56,000 nautical miles aboard their 40' sloop, Nor Siglar. On returning, Brevig set to work on a book that is different from any other cruising adventure ever written. It's not a how-to book, nor is it a memoir it's a unique combination of photos that belong in a magazine like National Geographic and beautifully written passages about their journeys, the local cultures they encountered along the way, and their thoughts and feelings on life aboard. Perhaps the most obvious difference between Brevig and Vennesland's journey and most peoples' was their desire to take things slowly and let the world shape their schedule. We met people from all corners of the world, experienced the delight of bonding with fellow cruisers, brushed up on history and language skills and learned about other cultures, Brevig writes on the sleeve. We came to know and understand lifestyles completely different from our own and learned that is it possible to live quite happily in a variety of ways in this complex and fascinating world. Before they left, they both had strong careers, Vennesland as the head of a Canadian forestry consulting firm and Brevig as a manager of an international shipping company. Inspired by stories in boating magazines of couples who lived aboard and sailed around the world, they lived and worked at the dock for about five years while getting their new boat ready. Not only was it a trial period for the boat, it was a trial period for their relationship. They knew that living in close quarters can be very difficult, so they made the wise decision to move onto the boat together long before taking off. The week before they were scheduled to leave, they got married. Nothing is glossed over in this book. Brevig writes candidly of visiting Skikda, Algeria, where, even though there has been a recent epidemic of violence, they are carefully looked after by Port Authorities, who bring them fresh-baked bread in the morning and appoint two armed soldiers to guard the boat. When one of the soldiers boards Nor Siglar in the middle of the night, machine gun in hand, the situation is tense. But human goodness prevails, and Brevig and Vennesland leave Algeria with a new understanding of how bad politics can ruin the lives of good people. For each country they visited, a sidebar is included listing the location, government, area, coastline, population, capital, languages, religions, currency, industries, agriculture and exports. These informative at-a-glance pieces help the reader understand the dynamics of the countries, and the narrative moves from place to place as smoothly as the water under Nor Siglar's hull. But the best thing about the book is, without a doubt, the photography. In the first chapter, a fully-suited Brevig steps off Nor Siglar in her high heels and stockings on her way to her last day at work, the buildings of Vancouver behind her. By page 24, she is clad in a bikini inside the boat, operating the vessel's ham radio, and Vennesland loses all his clothes by page 33. There's nothing smutty about it they are simply two people basking in their freedom to explore a beautiful world. In Morocco, Brevig shows off gorgeous bridal henna (temporary) tattoos. An iguana stares down a red crab in the Galapagos. 9 Years on the 7 Seas belongs on a coffee table or in a yacht's library or both. ---Melanie Neale, The Crew Report, TRP Magazines, London, UK

Few dare to live the dream of circumnavigating the globe as Anne Brevig and Martin Vennesland did. They followed their hearts when they made the big leap from weekend and vacation sailing along the British Columbia Coast to completing a nine-year odyssey aboard their sloop, Nor Siglar. 9 Years on the 7 Seas documents their exciting adventure in a beautiful, informative, more-than-a-coffee-table book. Their circumnavigation was not one of speed and impressive records as they did not rush through paradise, but stopped to smell the roses and to live for the moment , the author writes. The couple visited 76 countries and island nations, often in remote areas seldom visited by cruising boats, skipping some of the more popular destinations. In the places we liked the best, we stayed the longest and got to know the people, Anne writes. 9 Years on the 7 Seas is a must-read for those who hope to circumnavigate. It s also a wonderful book for the dreamers among us who would love to follow in their footsteps. --Jo Bailey,48 Degrees North, Seattle, WA.

It's every sailor's dream to sail the seven seas but few ever get to realize that dream. One couple who did live out their fantasy are Anne Brevig and Martin Vennesland. Originally from Norway but living in Vancouver, the modern-day Magellans circumnavigated the globe aboard the Nor Siglar, or "Northern Sailor" in old Norse, (a 40-foot Gib'Sea sloop ) and survived to write about it. In a saga ranging somewhere between Mutiny on the Bounty and Survivor Marquesas, the couple sailed from Vancouver to Panama (September 1991-April 1992), the Caribbean (May-December 1992), the Atlantic Ocean to Norway (January 1993-July 1994), North Sea, Mediterranean and Atlantic (August 1994-March 1998), Pacific Ocean (April 1998-August 1999), Indian Ocean and Mediterranean (February-June 2000) and Gibraltar to Norway (July-August 2000). Total distance logged: 56,000 nautical miles). What makes this epic voyage even more amazing is that Brevig was a farm girl in her native Norway, didn't learn to swim until she was 16 and became easily seasick. All told, Brevig and Vennesland visited 76 countries and island nations and, because they learned how to slow down, got to interact with people from many different backgrounds and cultures. A warning to those of you who are tempted to put this book under the Christmas tree for that sailor in your life: You just might not get to see him or her again for a long, long time as he or she sails into the sunset. ---Joseph Kula, The Province, Vancouver, B.C.

About this edition

• Publisher: 7 Seas Productions
• Publication date: 2005
• ISBN 10: 0973758201
• ISBN 13: 9780973758207
• Binding: Perfect Paperback
• Edition number: 3
• Number of pages: 216
• Editor: Freydis J. Welland
• Illustrator: Solvi Hervig