challenges | Jackie Parry

I’m rather chuffed to announce that

“Of Foreign Build – From Corporate Girl to Sea-Gypsy Woman”

is now available on Audio.

Here’s the official announcement/Press Release:

New Street Nautical Audio is proud to announce its publication of Jackie Parry’s superb Of Foreign Build: From Corporate Girl to Sea-Gypsy Woman, already a bestseller in digital and paper editions.

After suffering an emotionally-brutal bereavement, Jackie made a bold decision and stepped into a new life. With a new husband, and no prior experience with boats, she entered the obscure but fascinating nether-world of the cruising lifestyle.

Her world would never be the same again. A floating home with no fridge or hot water, and a dinghy instead of a car.

The first off-shore voyage took Jackie into a ferocious storm, which battered her physically and mentally. But amid those raging seas, Jackie shed the fear she’d been harbouring. Soon she was blissfully voyaging around the world, but she still carried the mixed emotions of losing one man while falling head over heels in love with another.

Not only did Jackie deal successfully with the challenges of her new existence, she also battled with the testosterone fuelled nautical world to become both a professional captain and a qualified maritime teacher.

Most importantly, Jackie found herself.

Narrated by Britain’s Michelle Michaels, the New Street Nautical Audio edition for Of Foreign Build runs 14 hours, 43 minutes, and is available from Audible, iTunes, and Amazon. (Listen to an excerpt here).

ABOUT THE AUTHOR: Originally from the UK, Jackie Parry is now an adopted Australian. But it’s hard to pin Jackie’s location down at any given time. She’s currently exploring French canals on a Dutch barge with her Australian husband.

For more information, click here.

It had rained for two nights a bought flood waters. So, of course, we decided to tackle one of the lowest bridges: The Capestang.

Not helping by raising the water levels and decreasing our likelihood of getting under the bridge.

It’s not so much that it is low, but the curved arch reduces the height dramatically, the wider the boat.

Brilliant!

We inspected the bridge, and there is not one inch of it that hasn’t already been gouged-out by previous boats. More rain was forecast, we had to have a go.

Really?

With sweaty palms and flip-flopping stomachs we puttered up to the bridge. The game plan? I was on the bow indicating centre – then watching the stern and pointing in the direction the stern needed to shift to keep us in the centre.

Flip-flop, flip-flop (my stomach!)

If we scratched the paint we didn’t care. We went that slow, we could stop, reverse out and go back to our mooring with nothing more than our ego damaged.

My cool cucumber!

Noel, as usual, was great on the helm and cool as a cucumber. I matched his coolness on the exterior but inside my stomach was making its way up to my throat.

Phew!

With an inch gap each side of our wheelhouse roof we glided under and it was then that I remembered to breath – we made it!

Farewell to the lovely village of Capestang, and Jane (fellow WOB – Women on Barge member (FB)), (and John and Sophie), hope to see you again when we’re heading north!