CHASING SUNSETS is a terrific account of one family�s circumnavigation on a Mason 53 outfitted with UK-Halsey sails. The book about a six-year voyage is written by Laurie Pane with running commentary from his wife Carole and son Ryan. With self-deprecating humor that is not over-bearing, Pane writes about his family�s sail around the world along the tradewinds route. This is a story about the people they met, the places they went, wild life they saw, food they ate, cruisers they buddy-boated with, and a look at their family.
One example of Laurie�s sense of humor comes o ut when he talks about his neighbors in one South Pacific harbor: �Normally we were the biggest boat in most anchorages. Not a big deal, but sort of nice in a round about way � what the hell, it�s good for the ego! When we entered Musket Cove, there was a 150-foot sailboat, two 130-footers, an 85, a 75 and two 65s. Put us right into our place it did, with our measly 54 feet.�
As someone who has sailed almost halfway around the world on parts of the Pane�s route, I found their story accurate, informative and fun to read. The Pane�s trip extended from 1996 to 2002. Their descriptions of the cruising life-style rang true and it was fun to read about how some harbors have been developed while others stayed the same in the years since I sailed from Australia to the Mediterranean.
Besides being a great read for armchair sailors, the book is a good resource for those thinking about cruising around the world. It is an accurate description of what it is like. Laurie offers good advice based on experience. For instance, he writes: �Our shotgun had been handed over to the Customs officers in Nuka Hiva, and we got it back when we checked out of Papeete. This was a little strange, as we were to visit several more islands in French Polynesia. In common with most other cruisers, we found that having a gun on board was more trouble than it was worth. Almost every country requires guns to be surrendered on entry, which negates any defensive worth they might have. A non-declared gun found during a Custom�s search often results in immediate confiscation of the boat.�
While discussing the long paper work process in Fiji, Laurie writes: �My policy has always been to go along, uncomplaining, with any local requirements. It is their country and their rules. If you don�t like it, just leave and go somewhere else. In this instance we were having a very pleasant time with the Fijians, joking and laughing and generally helping the time to pass. They knew that the paperwork was just �make-work� and so did we, but it had to be done.�
About planning their route, Laurie wrote, �One of the fallacies of cruising is you have all the time in the world to do things. Certainly there is more time to spend in each place than is available to land-based mortals, but key schedules, mainly weather and season-related, have to be kept. For example, you cannot enter the South Pacific before the end of the cyclone season in March, and you must be out, in Australia, New Zealand, or north of the equator, by early November. That leaves only seven months to cover French Polynesia, Cook Islands, Tonga, and Fiji, all at less than six knots. Stay too long in one place, and you have to hurry through another. The main problem is that it gets better as you go west, something that is hard to appreciate when lolling in Bora Bora�s lagoon.�
If you are thinking about taking your own boat around the world, do not skip over the Appendices; there is a lot of good information there including Questions Most Asked, How Much Did It Cost, Most Important Gear, Spare Parts, Home Schooling and much more. They spent $40,000 per year, which included a trip home once a year, infrequent stays at luxury hotels, over land travels as well as boat repairs and upgrade. My one criticism is that I wish there was a little more about their actual sailing-� some lessons learned on sails they used, or trim tips. And since they did use UK-Halsey sails, I�ll conclude that Carole inscribed my book with, �Your sails took us safely around the world.�
To buy the book and find more information about the Panes, go to www.chasingsunsetsthebook.com The cost of the 448-page paperback with color photos is $19.96.
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