high seas adventure escapism that's true!

What did you like most about Breaking Seas?

A lit of blokes dream about sailing around the world, before going back to mowing the lawn, but this guy buys a big boat and quits his job without ever having set foot on a sailing boat, and then he actually does go round the world. Inspiring and very funny.

What was one of the most memorable moments of Breaking Seas?

The descriptions of his near death experiences hold you breathless. The small things that always go wrong (this guy practically defines "sods law", are reminiscent of our own struggles with the minutiae over life. That makes it believable and very funny!

Have you listened to any of René Ruiz’s other performances? How does this one compare?

No. I like his delivery though. He reads it as if he's telling you the story of his adventures, not reading out someone else's words. His characterisations of the many different people that Glenn encounters are subtle and well defined.

Was there a moment in the book that particularly moved you?

The "drive by rejection" by a potential lover, that is the catalyst for the whole crazy enterprise is so painful, and every man who has ever been rejected will wince at the description. However you have to give thanks to the woman without whom we wouldn't have had this tale, and Glenn Damato wouldn't have had his amazing life.

Any additional comments?

Anyone who loves a good adventure yarn, wrapped up in a warm room while reading about cold black seas beating against the Hull of a lonely boat in far distant reaches, read this. Anyone who lives stories of people "giving it all up" on a whim and a dream, read this. Anyone who has been unlucky in love or in their career or in life and want an inspirational tale, read this. Anyone who wants a good laugh, read this. Anyone who wants practical advice on how to set up a boat so it is sea worthy could do worse than read this as Mr damarto gives some great advice and tips along the way.
Basically, read this, I did and I loved it!

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2 people found this helpful

disappointing...gave up

I gave up
it was interesting but too much detail. like someone used a thesaurus and made the book sound like a boring accountants description.
person reading...well paint drying sounds more interesting

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breaking seas

liked the honesty in this book really enjoyed it
joyce seemed nice and easy to get along with

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As entertaining as it is distressing

I felt strong reactions throughout this book so I suppose that you could say that I found it entertaining.

Initially I felt some pity for the author when he described his apparently unlucky lot in life and I felt admiration for his courage and commitment to ditch his comfortable but unfulfilling existence, in pursuit of adventure and meaning, seemingly against all the odds. As the tale unfolds however any positive sentiment regarding the author quickly gave way to disdain. The author seems to wear glaring faults, such as being overweight, impractical and inexperienced as points of pride, rather than the problems to be overcome.

Most importantly however, as much as this is a sailing story, with many cringe worthy disasters to keep you entertained, it is also perfect case study of the 'in-cel' phenomenon that is now endemic in the West. Glenn projects onto women in particular, but also pretty much anyone he encounters over the course of the book, a snobbish, dismissive and superficial demeanor which he feels is an unjust reaction to his looks and surface character traits by irredeemably shallow people. It becomes clear though, especially where he makes repeated and concerted efforts in the book to humiliate a girl from his former crew (principally on the basis of looks), that it is in fact Glenn who is shallow, entitled, tactless and spiteful as well as being a terribly weak character.

Spoilers I guess but I was absolutely disgusted that a man who invested so much time, money and energy into doing something so courageous as breaking away from the soul sucking daily grind, having tasted true freedom, he sailed all the way back into the jaws of slavery, so that he can once again indulge in all of the consumer comforts that he lusted after so whilst at sea. In the ultimate symbol of defeat, he even begs his old job back. The closing chapters were clearly a desperate attempt to convince himself as well as the reader that electing to go home wasn't the pathetic and inevitable climb down of a born loser that it clearly was.

I'd recommend this book, just know that it's a tragedy.

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An amazing book that any boat owner can relate to

An amazing book that any true boat owner can relate to.
it's nice to see I'm not the only one that has made the mistakes he did and lived to tell the tail

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a very honest story

as a sailor of over 20 years sailing experience, I often wonder why people with no experience head off on an ' everest ' of adventure. This book explains that well .
if you suddenly find yourself filled with a desire to sail off , listen to this book first, its an honest and entertaining work !, More than anything , it teaches, ' try before you buy' . Reading a manual won't do it.
everything is made to look easy and safe , by years of experience.
G ood for him for at least reaching for his star though.

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great for armchair sailors but......

This was great for armchair sailors, but I found I quite disliked the author. Mr Damato came across as quite rude (especially about women he felt unattractive) and crude. On the plus side he explained different aspects of sailing and the boat which we landlubbers never get to understand (reefing, jibing, topsails, and much more) The actual story from start to finish gave me a pretty complete picture of his adventure and I could almost of been on the high seas with him.

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Not bad, but infuriating.

Ok, so this book is written quite well. A little self indulgent and falsely self deprecating, but its a good lesson.
Spoilers below!!
The story is, however, tragic. The subtitle should read “A non sailor with confidence issues gets his dream shattered by terrible choices”
As a sailor, nay, an OCEAN sailor, this is a tough lesson in what not to do. Don’t buy a boat the way Glenn did, refit a boat the way Glenn did, never underestimate “boat tax”, don’t recruit crew the way Glenn did, don’t be afraid to tell people to get the f**k off your boat, don’t be a skipper without authority.
I think the last point is the reason why the story went the way it did. Being “in command” isn’t easy, but nor is it difficult. Glenn needed some help with that for sure.
Being a nerd is not a handicap, being unpleasant is. Both Glenn and his “1st Mate” (who would not make it with 100miles of my boat) had this in spades. Glenn’s personal and political views are the polar opposite of most cruisers, and Joyce’s utter disregard and disrespect for anyone else is sadly endemic in that part of the world (my experience only).
Anyway. That’s my tuppance. Narrator is excellent.

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Just what I needed

I can relate to this guy, not his physical situation but more his desire to achieve something a bit different. It is well written, enjoyable and my only disappointment is that is wasn't longer and ended where it did.

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4 people found this helpful

A bit misleading

I rather expected tails of sailing single handed around the world but this never happened. Too many self deprecating remarks by the author. Took some time before any sailing started.

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