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On the Hard in Paradise
Like the capsizing of a boat, On the Hard in Paradise plunges readers into the deep end of the Virgin Islands, answering the question what would it be like to leave everything behind and move to a Caribbean island.
Revealing the best and the worst, the coral reefs and the crime of this exotic destination, this is the true account of the author’s remarkable year with her husband and son living on a catamaran in the West Indies.
On the Hard in Paradise opens with a sampling of the author’s country life on 92 acres in California’s Sierra Nevada where she rode a pair of aging quarter horses and her husband took excessive pride in the water pressure of their wells. In the winter she planted thready saplings hoping they would grow into Christmas trees, and one hot summer afternoon they watched as a legion of firefighters chased a 70-acre fire across their land.
Fleenor tells about the decision to move to the Caribbean and a week of sailing classes on San Francisco Bay where her husband hoped she’d learn, and maybe even love, to sail. Three chapters are devoted to the long flight across country in a twin-engine airplane.
In their year in the islands they rode swells to pristine beaches and stumbled into squalid neighborhoods where prides of young men laid in wait for something to happen. The chapter titled Ten Seconds to Papa up and Gun records the exciting weekend of the Rolex Regatta. The author’s yacht, Take Two, was the center of activity for nearly a hundred sailboats circling like Indians in war paint while awaiting the starting gun.
Readers dive into the refreshing blue water at Coki Beach and into the sweaty crowd of flamingo-pink tourists at the annual chili cook-off; and accompany the author stepping onto the deck of the Willie T., the infamous floating nightspot where visitors discard their dignity with their clothes to jump nude from the stern while bartenders set-up body shots on the pierced abdomens of coeds.
Living on a boat wasn’t all biminis and breezes. There are stories of frenzied battles with cockroaches fleeing across a cabin flinging pillows as they ran, and of life on-the-hard when their yacht was pulled dripping from the water for repairs.
Like a quirky character in a minor role, marital frictions add a splash of tension to the book and play a small, but key part in the final chapters.
Thirty-eight short chapters with titles like Hurricane Glance, 92 Acres to 48 Feet, Will You Give Me the Woman, and Keep Left take the reader strolling under palm trees and wading into this West Indies adventure.
Revealing the best and the worst, the coral reefs and the crime of this exotic destination, this is the true account of the author’s remarkable year with her husband and son living on a catamaran in the West Indies.
On the Hard in Paradise opens with a sampling of the author’s country life on 92 acres in California’s Sierra Nevada where she rode a pair of aging quarter horses and her husband took excessive pride in the water pressure of their wells. In the winter she planted thready saplings hoping they would grow into Christmas trees, and one hot summer afternoon they watched as a legion of firefighters chased a 70-acre fire across their land.
Fleenor tells about the decision to move to the Caribbean and a week of sailing classes on San Francisco Bay where her husband hoped she’d learn, and maybe even love, to sail. Three chapters are devoted to the long flight across country in a twin-engine airplane.
In their year in the islands they rode swells to pristine beaches and stumbled into squalid neighborhoods where prides of young men laid in wait for something to happen. The chapter titled Ten Seconds to Papa up and Gun records the exciting weekend of the Rolex Regatta. The author’s yacht, Take Two, was the center of activity for nearly a hundred sailboats circling like Indians in war paint while awaiting the starting gun.
Readers dive into the refreshing blue water at Coki Beach and into the sweaty crowd of flamingo-pink tourists at the annual chili cook-off; and accompany the author stepping onto the deck of the Willie T., the infamous floating nightspot where visitors discard their dignity with their clothes to jump nude from the stern while bartenders set-up body shots on the pierced abdomens of coeds.
Living on a boat wasn’t all biminis and breezes. There are stories of frenzied battles with cockroaches fleeing across a cabin flinging pillows as they ran, and of life on-the-hard when their yacht was pulled dripping from the water for repairs.
Like a quirky character in a minor role, marital frictions add a splash of tension to the book and play a small, but key part in the final chapters.
Thirty-eight short chapters with titles like Hurricane Glance, 92 Acres to 48 Feet, Will You Give Me the Woman, and Keep Left take the reader strolling under palm trees and wading into this West Indies adventure.
- GenresNonfictionTravel
256 pages, Kindle Edition
First published March 19, 2011
16 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews
August 21, 2017
I wanted to like this book but it never picked up. It had the potential to be a great adventure. Poor ending.
February 7, 2017
This is the book to give to anyone you DON'T want to come sailing with you in the Virgin Islands
March 31, 2013
I'm a bit biased here because it is all so familiar! I lived on Tortola for years and years and years so know Tutu Mall and Duffy's Love Shack, Anegada, Virgin Gorda etc. I lived on a boat so that is familiar. I used to live on the hard although that was a different time in a different place. I couldn't put it down - lovely read for me but a good read even if its not home from home.
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews
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